Where There's A Spark, There's A Way
by Jacqueline Faber
Summary: How do the residents of Detroit feel about the "scavenger hunt" for the AllSpark fragments? Why are organic planets off-limits? The Elite Guard has kept a dirty little secret for millions of years.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** - Deception is Decepticon agreed to beta-read for me (thanks a bunch!), so the amount of errors present when I upload should decrease.

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She felt a sharp pulse in her mind. Her former co-workers used to joke about her 'spider-sense' and how it warned her of dangerously malfunctioning robots. The last personal cleaning automaton she'd fixed had grabbed her blowtorch and attempted to set her head on fire. The advance notice was terribly unspecific and only warned a minute early at best, sometimes failing to work at all. Skyler set her burger back in the container and gazed around the outdoor cafe. While not packed, there were plenty of people around. A few families had young children and small robots to help take care of them. The worst they could do would be throwing children around. _They can't be the problem, I'm only warned of danger to myself._ It couldn't be a car collision; vehicles didn't have any artificial intelligence yet -it was still too dangerous- and so would be undetected by her 'radar.'

Suddenly the feeling returned, accompanied by a sensation of falling through the air. Danger from above. Two airborne vehicles shot by; one a huge purple bomber and the other a smaller silver and purple jet fighter with treads. They transformed, revealing themselves to be Decepticons. The deep purple one clumsily stepped on a (thankfully) vacant truck and the other mechanism shrilled, "Honestly, Lugnut, if you'd just let me give you some dancing lessons..."

She sighed, hidden by the milling people fighting to reach their vehicles and drive away. _So much for a quiet lunch._ Skyler saw that the two Cybertronian robots were arguing. _Good. Hopefully they're too distracted to notice any of us._ She hefted her backpack, then shouldered through the crowd to an area with many winding narrow side streets.

Skyler ducked into a short alley with a dead end and heard the sounds of destruction coming from the area she had just vacated._ That was __too__ close!_ She approached the back wall and sat down beside a dumpster to wait.

A loud roaring noise signaled the two large jets' take-off. "I wonder what they wanted," she murmured, looking up and catching a glimpse of them flying away. The sentient robots almost never revealed themselves in public without good reason. She remembered an interview the day after the carnage. Ever since that battle at Sumdac Tower, where the Decepticon leader known as Megatron emerged, Cybertronians from both sides of their war had appeared every now and then. A news crew asked the Optimus Prime why Decepticon sightings were becoming more frequent.

He had replied, "During my battle with Megatron, the AllSpark, an ancient Cybertronian artifact containing tremendous energy and vitally important to our race, was shattered. Fragmented but still functional, shards begin to emit a hard-to-detect energy signal. We Autobots value all sentient life and thus cannot allow any pieces to fall into Decepticon servos. They would destroy this planet and then move on to conquer Cybertron."

The last week had been especially difficult. She was currently between jobs, her position as a mechanic in a repair garage put on hold after a stray blast from the giant alien robots dueling tore off the roof. It hadn't damaged the owner's son's house, but it would be awhile until it could be made ready for business again. Skyler carried all she owned in her backpack, actually quite a bit more than anyone else using the phrase could mean.

Anything that fit through the opening could be stored safely and she still hadn't found a limit to what it could hold. She pulled a small granola bar from the rucksack and munched on it, contemplating her next action. Finishing the snack, she tossed the wrapper into the garbage bin and headed out the alley.

As she neared the corner, Skyler pulled out her PDA and searched for nearby garages. Hopefully there would be a vacancy at one of them with a supervisor open-minded enough to accept that a girl could do just as well as a man with the greasy internals of an automobile or, more often, with Sumdac Systems automatons. Maybe if she insisted it was just a part-time thing, just while her boss was recovering…

She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice the shriek of a jet soaring overhead. Hearing gears grinding, Skyler glanced up from her pad, expecting to see a car crash. It had sounded close, but the alley was completely empty. _Wait, didn't it come from... above!_ No sooner had the thought entered her head, than something huge crashed down on the ground, forming a crater in the pavement that sent dirt flying. She sneezed, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the impact site. The dust cleared to reveal a robot, tall even by their standards.

Her face turned white as a sheet. She recognized him from the news. Starscream. Single handedly responsible for holding off the entire Autobot team and destroying several city blocks before being tackled by Optimus Prime. He'd returned not too long ago, only to be decked by his restored leader. The Autobots had warned the public that the crimson Decepticon had no allegiance except himself, making his actions difficult to predict. Not only that, he was said to be extremely cunning. In essence, dangerous to anyone who came across him, Autobot or human.

Skyler backed up a few paces, her mind screaming at her to, _Run, dammit, run!_ Finally remembering how her legs worked, she spun around and took off as fast as her feet could carry her.

Something large and black slammed down in front of her and she collided with it face-first at full speed, rebounding back onto the pavement. The...whatever it was...moved towards her and she realized it had been his hand. "Oh, **shit**! Nonononono!" The woman rolled over quickly, scrambling to get up. But not fast enough, as the large hand wrapped around her just as she leapt to her feet. Screaming in terror, the young woman struggled to get free as she was lifted into the air, sure her life would be over any minute. Starscream's grip tightened and her yells choked off as her air supply was cut in half.

Nearly paralyzed by fear, she found herself looking straight into his eyes. _Optics_, she corrected herself, _robots don't have eyes._ "Gah! What do you want!?" She choked out.

The red lenses glowed brighter and a predatory smirk appeared on his face. "You," he said, "are coming with me."

Skyler jerked backward in surprise and was shoved into a compartment that opened in his chest when the cockpit glass retracted. The hatch sealed again and she stood up, only to be knocked over again as her captor jumped into the air and transformed into his Harrier jet mode. She hauled herself to her feet angrily, irked by the constant tumbles, and was yanked into the pilot's chair by a set of restraints that clicked shut. "Hey!" she shouted, tugging at the straps. "Let go!"

"I am not in the habit of taking orders from tiny organics," his harsh voice resonated through the cockpit.

The straps tightened and Skyler abandoned her fight with them, kicking at the control panel as hard as she could, judging it to be the only weak point available. "Too-tight-and-I-can't-breathe!" She punctuated each word with a vicious kick.

He snarled and the body of the jet rumbled, but the safety harness loosened slightly. She leaned to the side, coughing and gasping for air. Skyler regained her breath and rasped sarcastically, "Thanks."

Starscream flew on, scheming. He didn't really care what those pathetic excuses for Autobots did. His only concern was terminating Megatron; they just kept getting in the way. He turned his attention to the young human sitting in his cockpit. Her vital signs indicated she was terrified, but at least she wasn't screaming anymore.

The Decepticon traitor was mildly impressed. The small organic was obviously scared but still possessed the presence of mind to threaten him. She was even rude! If he'd had a mouth in vehicle mode, he would have been grinning from audio receptor to audio receptor. Apparently not all humans were mindless insects. It didn't seem quite so odd that those pathetic sentimental Autobots became attached. This brought him back to his original thought: _What now?_ Starscream originally intended to grab a human and use it as a bargaining tool for the AllSpark fragments the Autobots had located so far. It worked when he first arrived.

Then he had a sobering thought. There were no other Decepticons on Earth at that point, except for the slagged Megatron, so threatening to destroy the planet wouldn't work; the three 'Cons would be able to stop him. And he'd learned that the three humans imprisoned on the vehicle were the city mayor, chief of police, and a leading inventor, a genius from the humans' point of view and one of the parental units of the kid who hung out with the Autobots, not just random humans but ones important to the Autobots. He growled in frustration; hostages were not an option and so his trip might as well have been wasted. However, he was sure that some other opportunity would open up.

Skyler stared blankly at the blue sky and fluffy white clouds. The only reassurance she had was that Starscream didn't want to kill her...yet. _This is just great. Life could always get worse, but it would be pretty difficult at the moment._ She leaned back, determined not to sink into crushing despair. _Cheer up,_ she chided herself, _you've always wanted to go flying, and how many can boast of going for a ride in a giant alien robot that can look like a jet?_ Whatever the bot wanted from her, she apparently needed to be alive. Other than that, she didn't know anything.

A low growl reverberated and Skyler froze, blood turning to ice. _Oh crap, what did I do!?_ When the noise faded without anything else happening, she relaxed. The jet angled down and landed in a small forest clearing. Skyler was shoved out of the seat to the floor. She mentally cursed whatever being or beings created the Cybertronians as Starscream reverted to his bipedal form. _Where on Earth is this?_ she wondered, so she leaned against the glass trying to see outside.

"Hold still," he hissed and the restraints pinned her to the back wall.

_Like hell!_ she thought. Starscream started walking, making her suddenly glad for the support. She wouldn't have been able to stand anyways and would have been rattled around and likely injured as a result. But still, she didn't want to be stuck in restraints holding her appeared to be a tangled web, but a few of them were loose enough for her to get one arm free. The lack of response encouraged her to begin working the other arm out.

The Decepticon second-in-command strode through the thick forest to a system of subterranean tunnels he knew of. Motion in the region that became the jet cockpit alerted him that the organic was slowly squirming loose.

Starscream grew annoyed, but held his temper in check. Unrestrained anger wouldn't help his plans come to fruition. He reached into his torso compartment and pulled out the human female, hearing her yelp in shock.

"Ah!" she squeaked. _It's a good thing I don't have motion sickness._ Stealing a glance behind her, she saw that Starscream's wasn't even looking at her. Skyler leaned forward, resting on her arms and looking around. _Aw, hell. It's the stereotypical dank and depressing cave lair._

The Decepticon turned and walked toward what seemed to be a solid section of cave wall. _What, is he nuts?_ Skyler threw her arms up in front of her, certain to get a mouth full of rock. When no impact came, she lowered her arms and blinked in surprise. It was a cleverly-disguised side tunnel. Starscream continued down it, halting in front of a large, at least to her eyes, metal door with a keypad. He punched a code in too rapidly for her to see and the door slid open. Skyler shuddered as he stepped through the opening.

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**A/N** - Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** - So school's winding down and I'm finding myself with more free time in the evenings. Hopefully I will be able to work more on my stories.

Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed my first chapter!

The third chapter will be quite a bit longer; I thought the ending made an interesting cliffhanger (XP sorry, couldn't help it).

**Update** - My computer has been having memory problems, so I removed this chapter for a bit to fix some errors (lack of sleep made it worse).

Anyways, school is just about over (and my official "banned from the internet" status), which **should** make it easier to write (I can't just do random bits and pieces in small intervals).

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The door slid open, revealing a spacious room with two more openings. The cavern was empty, except for the lone Cybertronian-sized chair and table. A highly advanced computer system was connected to a giant monitor on the wall.

Starscream walked forward and sat down, placing the young woman on the table.

Skyler looked up. "What do you want from me?"

"I **had** planned to use you as a bargaining chip against the Autobots but circumstances have made that option undesirable." He scowled.

_Not a hostage? He's gonna kill me!_ Skyler retreated until her back was pressed against the cave wall.

There was a blur and Starscream grabbed her again. "You're not going anywhere," he hissed.

_It feels like my ribs are starting to crack!_ "No…shit, Sherlock! I think I realized that already!" she snarled back.

His optics narrowed and Skyler wondered if she'd crossed the thin line that separated a living, breathing human and a bloody smear.

Instead of obliterating her, Starscream just set her back on the "desk" and studied his prisoner. "I never asked your name," he said.

_Can this get **any** more surreal?_ she wondered. "S-Skyler," she stammered.

Starscream leaned closer and Skyler backed against the wall. _**YAH!** **Too close!**_ He was only three meters away.

"And I assume you know mine."

Too terrified to speak, she nodded rapidly. All the blood drained from her face when Starscream grinned manically, revealing a set of metallic "teeth," long and tapered to **extremely** sharp points. He laughed and turned to the computer console.

Skyler's legs gave out and she slid down the wall to a sitting position. Her heart felt as though it was trying to escape her chest. Hyperventilating, she tried to slow the frantic beat.

* * *

_Primus! it felt good, scaring the human femme_, Starscream thought as he entered data on Blitzwing and Lugnut's energy signals. Even now, that lump of flesh organics had instead of a Spark was pulsating madly. _The insect has courage, that much is obvious._

He felt drowsy and observed that it was late. _A few megacycles of stasis wouldn't go amiss._ Starscream stood, picked up Skyler, and walked to the side room where he'd set up a recharge bed. She was fighting to get free, an action humorous in its utter futility.

* * *

_What now?_ Skyler wondered, struggling vainly against Starscream's grasp. One of the doors opened. After closing it securely, Starscream dumped her on the floor and growled, "Escape is impossible, so don't even think about trying."

She watched wide-eyed as he crossed to a table-like structure in the middle of the room and laid down on it. Skyler looked at her watch and saw that it was after midnight. Then she looked back at the table. _A bed? Do robots sleep?_ She yawned and realized she couldn't think straight. She walked over to a corner and curled into a ball, quickly drifting off.

She was awakened the next morning by Starscream carrying her back to the table in the main room, where he continued working on whatever it was he'd been doing yesterday.

Skyler was still exhausted. She only had a couple hours of sleep, and it was hardly restful. Laying on a rocky floor in a state of mortal terror, it was amazing she even fell asleep in the first place.

Sitting with her knees to her chin, she folded her arms across and laid her head down, falling into a light doze.

* * *

_An energy signal?_ Starscream scanned the incoming data and smirked. _Another AllSpark fragment!_ He looked over at the human, who was in stasis...again.

_Pathetic. They spend nearly a third of every orbital cycle in a period of reduced activity_, he thought. _Can't leave it here and it might provide a quick getaway if those foolish Autobots decide to intervene._

Starscream poked her, hissing, "Wake up!"

* * *

Skyler opened her eyes and looked up, then flinched.

Starscream picked her up and walked towards the cave exit. After leaving the underground tunnels, he transformed.

She didn't struggle when the harness pinned her to the pilot's seat as she preferred to continue breathing. Skyler forced herself not to panic, to slow down and think rationally.

_Still alive and that's unlikely to change in the immediate future; good. Not about to starve due to a week's worth of non-perishables in my backpack; all set for now. So if I can just manage not to make Starscream mad..._

Time passed and she sat, not awake but not quite asleep, watching the clouds in the sky.

She looked out at the ground passing by far below and saw a mountain range surrounded by forest._ Wish I knew what he wanted.  
_

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Judging by the strength of the signal, the AllSpark fragment was underground somewhere. Radiation leaked from a single point, so there was only one entrance detectable. However, the opening was far too small for Starscream to fit. He soared over, scanning for another entry point.

"What's going on?" Skyler asked, noticing the circular flight path.

"That is none of your concern," he snarled, making her shrink back in the seat. _Stupid tiny organic_, he thought.

Then it hit him. Oh, he was a fragging **genius**! That overbearing malfunction Megatron would never have even considered his idea, which was just one more reason he, Starscream, was more deserving of the title Supreme Leader of all Decepticons.

Starscream landed in front of the cave and slid back the cockpit hatch. "Get out!" he ordered.

* * *

She turned to face Starscream.

"There is an AllSpark fragment in that cave system. You will find it and bring it back here."

Skyler said nervously, "I-I don't know what it looks like."

"It will be a fluorescing blue crystalline solid." The jet rumbled alarmingly. "What are you waiting for? Get moving!"

Skyler entered the tunnel. _Blue crystal that glows. How am I supposed to find it in here?_

She paused and set her backpack on the ground, removing a flashlight, water bottle, and apple. She shined the flashlight around the tunnel walls, looking for any other openings._ Nothing. Well, at least there aren't any splits to make me hopelessly lost.  
_

_

* * *

_

_**A few hours later...**_

She continued down the tunnel, which was not connected to any other cave system despite the multiple switchbacks. She felt **something**, but wasn't sure if it was the warning of danger or just water dripping to the floor and insects chirping and crawling around.

Skyler heard a low, nearly subsonic buzz and followed it. Suddenly the tunnel shook and there was the sound of a large detonation. She looked wildly around and saw a small crevice. Ducking into it, she heard voices:

"**You bungling defect! You just sealed the tunnel again!**"

"Oh for Spark's sake. Lugnut, move aside and let Blitzwing work."

"Yes, my liege!"

_Oh no. Megatron and those other two from before. I need to get out of here, but __Megatron or Starscream?_ she wondered, then realized what a stupid question that was. _Stick with the evil you know_, Skyler decided.

Something was protruding from the wall and digging into the small of her back. She turned to find out what it was and her eyes widened. _Ah, there it is._

A blue shard was sticking out from the wall at a right angle. It was only slightly longer than her palm and glowed with a soft light. Skyler grabbed hold and tugged. _Come on, move! _She braced one foot against the wall and yanked, pulling it out. _**Now** I can go._ She dropped the crystal into her backpack and re-entered the main tunnel.

As she did so, a crazed laugh echoed. "Ahahaha! How funny, the signal is gone!"

"**Must** I do everything **myself**!" Booming energy pulses grew louder.

Skyler turned and ran back the way she had come.

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**A/N** - Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** - A **huge** "thank you" to my beta-reader, Deception is Decepticon, who put up with my chronic procrastination. (I am a slacker and easily distrac-ooh! What's that over there?) Despite my random hours and a difference in time zones she was polite and helpful.

And thanks to those who posted reviews and added this story to their favorites. It made me smile every time I got an update. (You guys rock!)

I do not own Transformers Animated, Transformers belongs Hasbro and etc.

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Starscream was growing impatient. _It's been several megacycles! Where is that human? _There weren't any other openings to the cavern, so she couldn't have escaped. Hiding? He could outwait her. Sooner or later, she'd have to come out.

He heard running footsteps and transformed just as Skyler skidded to a halt, nearly tripping herself. She put her hands on her knees gasping in air through a raw throat, dropping the flashlight in the process.

"Well," he growled, "didn't you find it?" The woman shook her head, still panting and Starscream hissed, "Why not?"

Skyler looked up at the glowering Decepticon. "Meg - Megatron," she rasped. In a different situation, she might have enjoyed the look of pure fear on Starscream's face, but if he was **that** afraid of Megatron, it did not bode well for her.

Starscream snatched her off the ground and jumped into the air, flying off still in robot mode. Skyler clung desperately to his hand, a single thought running through her mind over and over: _Don'tdropmedon'tdropmepleasedon'tdropmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_ The cockpit hatch opened and she hauled herself in. After Starscream transformed, she sank into the seat gratefully.

Adrenaline produced by fear still coursed through her veins, making her head throb and her fingers tremble. No longer terrified, she was becoming rather angry with herself; she was only alive and (somewhat) well because of Starscream. ___I don't want to feel grateful to him! Is this how Stockholm Syndrome starts_, she wondered,_owing your captor your life?_

Starscream remained in bipedal mode to fight better if those two slagging loyalists, or worse, Megatron himself, attacked. After a few nanoclicks resulted in nothing happening, he scanned the area. Detecting no nearby Decepticon signals, Starscream transformed into his faster jet mode, seething with rage. Not only did he **not** have the AllSpark fragment, but that walking junkheap Megatron **did**. There wasn't even the satisfaction of seeing the Autobots and Megatron slag each other.

He wished he could take his frustration out on the human, but he knew it wasn't her fault. If even he, Decepticon perfection, couldn't defeat Megatron alone in anything approaching a fair fight, what chance did an insignificant fleshling have? Besides, if he killed her, then he would have to go back and get another one was already scared into obedience without pleading for its pathetic life and it didn't disgust him as much as the rest of the teeming hordes on this planet.

"So," he said flatly, "Megatron has the fragment of the AllSpark."

"What? No, it's right here."

_Impossible! I would have noticed-_ Starscream's thought processes were temporarily shocked into stasis as Skyler pulled out a small AllSpark shard. He reached a conclusion quickly: _The human's storage compartment shielded the radiation, but the slagging thing's too small to be of use!_ "I can't take it! Hold on to it for now." Starscream watched carefully as she put the fragment back. _I was right, it actually manages to completely negate the AllSpark energy signal!_ He was elated and actually happy to be proven wrong, which logically was nearly impossible due to his undeniable superiority.

He had found a fragment of the AllSpark **and** a use for the fleshling. Sometimes it just seemed that the universe conspired to make everything go **right**, as if to apologize for the fact that, despite all his valiant efforts to the contrary, Megatron still functioned as Leader.

Skyler was trying not to cry. Her foster dad had always told her 'big girls don't cry,' and she'd been determined to prove she was just as tough as her foster brother. She didn't think Starscream would kill her in the immediate future, but it was hardly reassuring.

He transformed a hundred feet or so above the ground. The landing jolted her and Skyler braced herself in a corner to keep from being rattled around. _Don't think about the fact that you're stuck somewhere in the torso of a giant alien robot or that said robot is evil and will likely kill you as soon as you outlive your usefulness or irritate him. _She winced._ Too late._

A thought occurred to her. _Why would he bring me along if he didn't need me? So if I just go along with whatever Starscream wants, hopefully a chance to escape will open up._

Her captor walked into the cave and Skyler leaned forward in the hope that she could see the code for the door. Unfortunately, she was at the wrong angle. _Damn. It's not like I could reach the keypad anyways, but it was worth a shot._ She closed her eyes. _I want to go __**home**__!_ Skyler stood up at the sound of the hatch opening, resigned to her continued imprisonment.

Starscream pulled her out and set her down. She looked up to see burning optics staring at her. "So...you've decided to cooperate."

Skyler flinched -_I wouldn't call it that..._- and shrank back, but nodded.

"The AllSpark shard." He extended a servo and she quickly deposited it, edging back.

Starscream looked at the fragment, already planning what to do with it. It was hard to rationalize that, after millions of stellar cycles of trying, he would finally extinguish Megatron's Spark and assume control of the Decepticon army. The only thing standing in the way of his rightful destiny was a single mech. _But not for long_, he thought, considering another explosive. _This shard will lure that worthless piece of tin to his doom._

He'd made a few trips to the crashed Nemesis, salvaging what he could. Some of those materials had been stored in this cave's side room, although the full compliment of parts had been distributed, so if Megatron discovered on cache, he would still have others to draw upon. There was a limited assortment here, primarily components for explosive devices. The door slid shut and he began to work, pulling apart two assembled ones to contain the AllSpark. As he did so, his thoughts turned back to his human prisoner. Maybe he'd release the insect, just to do something different for a change.

Skyler watched the Decepticon traitor leave the room and couldn't help but wonder what he would do with the fragment. _I'm probably better off __**not**__ knowing; I don't want the results on my conscience._

Her eyelids began to feel heavy, exhausted from the stress of the day. _I'll just rest them...for a little...a little bit._

Much later, she sat bolt upright. _Huh? What? How long was I out?_ She looked around the cave quickly and didn't see anything, then glanced at her watch. _Oh shit._ Skyler looked up again; she couldn't see Starscream, and wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Skyler dropped to the ground and walked forward nervously. The door to the outside was still closed, as was the other one, the one she knew nothing about.

Keeping to the side in case the main door opened suddenly, she pressed her ear against the wall but heard nothing. Skyler crept to the other, open door. _Empty._ She was alone and locked in. She bit her lip, hard. _Don't panic. Don't panic. You have enough supplies for a little while. Even if he never comes back, I should think of something eventually._

Skyler began giggling uncontrollably. _I've gone crazy! I actually __**want**__ a giant, murderous robot around!_ She clamped her hands over her mouth to stop her hysterics. _Focus_, she told herself. The console table cast a shadow in one of the cave's corners. Sitting down, Skyler felt less exposed.

She set her backpack down and rummaged around in it. _Looking for a book, something I haven't read in a - got it!_ Skyler pulled out a copy of an older book, one published over fifty years ago. _The Host__. I'd forgotten about that book._ Skyler smiled wryly._ Turns out aliens __**do**__ exist, but aren't interested in us or our planet._ She settled down to read.

Hours later, a noise jolted her out of her reading trance. Skyler quickly stuffed the book back in her knapsack and backed further into the shadows, hoping she wouldn't be seen.

With a screech, the outside door ground open and Starscream stormed inside, muttering angrily. He stalked off into the other chamber, but Skyler's eyes were fixed on the door he had left open. _But what if it's a trick?_ she wondered. Skyler edged around the desk and saw Starscream lay down on the large table. Looking back at the floor, saw spattered drops of black liquid, tinged with neon pink, in a trail leading from outside into where he was now. _That leaking fluid __**can't**__ be a good sign._ She chewed on her bottom lip in indecision. _**Damn**__ it!_

Skyler crept into the next room. Starscream didn't show any response, so she climbed up to the table. He wasn't moving, but there was a faint glow coming from a slit in his optic shutters that told her Starscream was still alive, or...whatever. She looked at the open door longingly, then back at the Decepticon. It just wouldn't seem right.

Skyler selected the appropriate tool from her bag and stuck her arm inside the machinery, sighing. _When I get out of this, I'm going to have a __**long**__, talk with my conscience._ Her arm was promptly covered in oil. _Ick, this is so gross._

Among all the twisted metal and a few split wires were some tubes that had been sliced open by something sharp. She traced the smoothed edges of the nearest one with her fingers before sealing it. The sides of the gash weren't just cut; the tube had been ripped open and then subjected to extreme heat. _What could have done all this?_ One patch done, many more to go. Standing up and peering across to Starscream's other side, she saw several more missing chunks of armor, each likely hosting several such injuries. She groaned and bent back down to the region in front of her.

_Finally._ Skyler sagged against an undamaged portion of the black metal, utterly exhausted. Despite all the sparks coming off the exposed wires, she'd managed to avoid any burns, although at the cost of getting her arms completely coated with the various fluids leaking out. Wrench dropping from her limp fingers, Skyler drifted off into slumber.

* * *

Groaning, Starscream unshuttered his optic lenses. Red diagnostic overlays reported that every system was malfunctioning in some way. While he waited for a more complete system check, he reflected on what had put him in his current state.

His plan had seemed so simple in concept: place the fragment of the AllSpark somewhere far enough away from the city so that Megatron would get to it before those glitch-headed Autobots. Then, rig it to explode. It had been an necessary waste, but he could always...

Starscream strained to sit up, realizing something important. SYSTEM FAILURE: CONTINUED EXERTION WILL RESULT IN STASIS LOCK. _**Slag **__it!_ He'd left the outer door wide open, wanting only to collapse onto the berth.

The human insect would have run off. Starscream had only been in stasis lock for under half a megacycle, but it would be several more megacycles before he was able to walk, let alone fly. He glared at the rocks overhead. This was almost as bad as being stasis cuffed. Almost, but not quite.

A few cycles passed, during which Starscream planned what to do once he'd recaptured her. Whether he let her live or not depended upon how far she had gotten (and how angry he was, but that went without saying). Eventually Starscream registered that there was something in the vicinity of his torso wound. He looked, and it was the small organic! Oil coated her arms.

_Sabotage!_ Did she honestly think he wouldn't have noticed? Furious, he directed the diagnostics to examine the area. Their results did not compute, but they were the only things working at 100% performance level. The diagnostics reported that all of the ruptured lubricant tubes had been repaired, not very skillfully, but more than his internal repairs would have been able to accomplish in such a short time.

With no other explanation left, Starscream was forced to accept that Skyler was responsible for the repairs. Wondering what possible motivation she could have had, he looked closer.

The girl was shivering, which Starscream knew meant her internal temperature was below the narrow range humans required to function. He grimaced. _Can't __believe__ I'm doing this._

Carefully lifting her up, he set Skyler on the plating over his Spark chamber. She muttered something incoherent and curled into a ball. As an afterthought, Starscream placed one servo over her. Laying back down, he realized that the minuscule amount of thermal energy she radiated was strangely comforting. It felt...good.

* * *

_Ugh, I haven't had a hangover __this__ bad since that spiked eggnog last Christmas._ That didn't seem right for some reason._ Wait a minute, I haven't been drinking in weeks. Then why does my mind feel so fuzzy?_ She hoped it would clear up soon, she didn't feel like calling in sick, even if she did work for her foster dad. _That's not right either, the garage is closed for repairs. I was looking for work when something...something happened._ Suddenly Skyler remembered, _The Decepticons! Starscream! Shit! Where am I? I fell asleep...oh, __**crap**__...I dozed off trying to repair him!_

She opened her eyes and saw black. _Ah! I'm dead! I can't be dead! I would have felt it! I wouldn't be wondering if I __**was**__ dead! So if I'm __not__ dead, where the hell am I?_

The darkness didn't fill her vision completely; rocky cave wall comprised a portion. _Alive, and still in the cave. __Where__ in the freaking cave? Hang on, what's that underneath me?_

Skyler looked down. She was resting on a deep red, slightly purple, surface. It was metal. **Red** metal. A wave of horror washed over her. _That's the color of Starscream's armor! AHHHHHH! I'm on his chest! Oh, __God!__ Ahhhhh!_

Her head whipped around. _Okay, calm down. He's still asleep, or whatever it is they do instead of sleep._ Her first thought was to crawl into the deepest hole she could find, but Starscream would tear the place apart until he caught her, and when he did... _Can't hide, but I can't stay here. First step, get out of this situation. Figure out what to do __**after**__ that._

She reached for the edge of his servo and tried to push it off, but it wouldn't budge. _He's out cold and it __**still**__ weighs a __ton__!_

Skyler scooted her knees up and tried to use the leverage they provided. The servo shifted about an inch. She let go and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. _That__ worked like a charm._

Just as she was considering another attempt, his fingers twitched and his servo lifted off. Skyler glanced over guiltily to see Starscream looking at her in befuddlement, as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing. _Well, this is...awkward_, she thought. Then the expression changed from confused to scowling and Skyler was sure she was about to die.

The movement had set off his proximity sensors, dragging the Seeker out of recharge. _What?_ Lifting his helm and glancing at the source of the alert, he saw a strangely red-faced human sitting next to his servo. _The human?_ He glared at her, affronted that she dared bother him. Except **he** had put her there. _Must have damaged my processor as well._ Starscream flicked her off to the berth and walked out of the room.

Skyler blinked after him. _No__ idea what just happened there. He didn't squish me, so that's a bonus?_ Dropping to the rock floor, she crept to the threshold of the door and then to the corner where the desk met the wall. Slowly peering around the corner, she noticed that the exit door was still open. _I can still get away!_, Skyler thought excitedly, but she hadn't taken more than a few steps when a servo reached down and grabbed her. Caught in his servo, Skyler sagged in defeat when he carried her over to the opening and pressed a button to close the door.

Starscream noticed her disappointment and was amused. _The foolish organic still plans to escape!_ He dropped her next to the console, ignoring the small noise of pain she made. _I'm not ready to set you free just yet, fleshling._

Skyler watched the screen out of the corner of her eye while still glowering at the door. She saw what appeared to be coordinates, associated with some set of values that didn't make sense. _Monitoring something? Or tracking?_ She was startled by the whir of machinery that accompanied Starscream's servo moving in front of her, palm up. _I don't... What the heck?_

Starscream growled in irritation and grabbed her. The dim-witted human couldn't tell what he wanted her to do, even when it was plainly obvious. He carried the girl with him out of the cave system, sure that the insignificant creature would get into trouble if he'd left her there. As he transformed, the Seeker wondered why she'd repaired him.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed as though the harness didn't pull quite as tightly as before. Hadn't released her, hadn't killed her, but Skyler simply couldn't fathom why he still wanted her. It was starting to make her uneasy. _Where is he going?_ All she could see out the cockpit was mountains. _This is actually kind of cool_, she thought, looking out through the glass.

He hurt in places he didn't know he **had** sensors. Still, he couldn't remain in the cave. Starscream may have led the Seekers, but even he couldn't escape their obsession with flying. Even though his trap backfired, he gained some more information on where Megatron and his lackeys hid. Cybertronians could disguise their energy signals to some extent, but activity reduced the effectiveness. One potential base was nearby. Hopefully if he got close enough, he could pick up on the familiar Decepticon aura before they noticed his.

As he flew, Starscream thought about what to do with his human passenger. She'd proven that she was useful, so he didn't want to just kill her, but he couldn't keep her around, either. That really left only one possibility, one that would ensure that the fleshling wouldn't cause any trouble if he let her go.

The fact that she hadn't run away earlier simply meant that she was too afraid or, much less likely, possessed **just** enough intelligence to realize that she did not have a chance of successfully escaping. Starscream wasn't going to give the human more credit than their race was due. Detecting nothing, he turned and headed back.

* * *

It made sense, in a coldly logical way. She was a hostage and Starscream needed to make sure she didn't escape. Hence, she went where he went. _But __I can't take much more of this!_ Skyler stared numbly at the opposite wall after the short flight, wondering if her family (what there was of it) was searching for her. Even if they talked to the employee of the deli shop where she purchased her lunch, it wouldn't do any good. _How long before they stop looking?_ Hugging her knees to her chest, Skyler tried to keep from trembling; the longer she was trapped here, the more afraid she became.

Starscream studied the young woman without her noticing. Thus far she had done as he ordered. The magenta Seeker didn't think that would change anytime soon. Not since he'd left the Decepticons had anyone willingly help him. And then there was the matter of her carrying bag. He couldn't believe that she had ahold of something that could completely negate AllSpark radiation. That's what the AllSpark's container had been for: shielding and ease of transport. "Human," Starscream said abruptly.

Skyler looked up, her vital signs registering fear.

"Where did you get that?" he pointed at the portable storage compartment she carried with her.

She edged away from the servo, pulling the object closer to herself. "My backpack? I've always had it."

"And you've never noticed anything unusual?"

_Why does he care?_ "N-no," she stammered. _Didn't know it was unusual for a couple of years, but I'm not gonna tell __**him**__ that._

"You're lying," Starscream said flatly, staring at her.

_Yes I am._ Skyler tensed, but nothing happened. "What?" she asked, unnerved by the silent stare.

Starscream smirked slightly. "Merely thinking."

Skyler realized that he was waiting for a response. _Well, I'm not going to give it to him!_ she decided.

He raised an optic ridge in mock surprise. "You're not going to ask?"

"Ask about what?" _Damn! Played right into his...whatever they call their hands._

"You're not completely stupid, human. You know I can't just let you leave." He gestured to the closed door, noting the faint hope in her eyes as she tracked the movement. "And yet I don't really feel like killing you." Starscream rested his helm on one hand, tapping the claws of the other on the table. "This leaves me in a minor predicament as to what to do with you."

_So I was right._ But the news was hardly reassuring. Skyler's gaze flickered from point to point on his faceplate, searching for any hint of what was coming.

"I do have one idea, which requires some participation from you. Something called the Spark Bond, not that you'd have any idea what it means," he sneered.

"It simply means I will be able to keep an optic on you."

"Why?"

"You...interest me."

"Why even bother asking?" Skyler grumbled sullenly, "You get what you want anyways."

"How very astute of you." He tapped the table in front of her a few times. "Except this won't work at all unless you cooperate. "Do you **want** to go home?"

"Well, yeah." Her eyes narrowed, asking suspiciously, "Just what is it you want me to do?"

"Oh, not much. It's perfectly painless; all you have to do is touch something of mine." Starscream knew he'd won, even before the words left her mouth:

"I will."

One more tap in front of her. "Stand up." When she did, he gestured for her to move closer.

Starscream leaned forward against the table and pulled the armor away from his Spark chamber. Warning sensors screamed alerts that a foreign object had penetrated the protective housing, but he shut them off. It went against every instinct to expose his Spark. _Hurry up, girl_, he thought.

Just as he thought the human had changed her fleshy mind, Starscream felt her touch his Spark.

* * *

Skyler saw a large orb, with a diameter slightly more than she was tall. It throbbed rhythmically and glowed with an eerie black light. Small flickers hinted at a lighter color. Leaning closer, she swallowed nervously and reached out, then paused. _What am I doing? _That...whatever it was seemed dark and dangerous. And yet, something compelled her forward. _Please don't let me regret this_, she begged some unseen Power.

Her hand met a slight resistance just outside the surface of the orb. Pushing a little harder, she made contact. A whirl of emotions swept over her, too fast to identify, and she saw double for a brief moment. Then a wave of _something_ swept by, bringing a desire to conquer. It was a lust for **power**. Skyler tore her hand away quickly and stumbled away, vision starting to fade.

Something caught her.

* * *

Starscream brushed off the sense of sorrow as a temporary glitch. A quick diagnostic proved that all systems were operational. Starscream looked at the small organic trembling in his servos and smirked. She was right; he did eventually get what he wanted. Then he frowned; she seemed oblivious to her surroundings. _And wouldn't that be just __perfect_, he thought, _if she couldn't handle the Bond._ Then Skyler stirred and Starscream knew she'd revive.

As he waited for her to recover, Starscream realized that he knew very little about the inhabitants of this planet. **Some** knowledge of the insignificant fleshlings would be advisable if he was to use this one in his plot to overthrow Megatron. He knew only in theory how to use the Spark Bond but could awkwardly stretch out his awareness to touch Skyler's.

Nowhere near even the most basic of Cybertronian systems, well, perhaps Lugnut's, but undeniably aware. Even now, she was performing what amounted to a diagnostic system check. He smirked; he was proven right, yet again.

Starscream was relieved; his 'Spark Partner'... he felt disgusted even thinking the words, would be easier to deal with than previously anticipated. The humans weren't quite as mindless as he had first thought, which meant he wouldn't have to take forever to explain to his what he needed her to do.

* * *

_Focus._ It felt like her mind had been shredded, and the pieces scattered all over. _What the __hell__ just happened?_ She felt better (somewhat), enough to once again notice her surroundings. Conscious of movement, she realized that she was sprawled across Starscream's hand and that he was walking somewhere. Skyler tried to sit up, hoping that it would help clear her thoughts but something pressed into her back. Her mind wasn't so foggy that she didn't recognize what was going on: Starscream making sure she couldn't move. The woman gave up, lacking the energy to struggle. She could barely even see, let alone fight anything.

Amused, Starscream lifted his servo off the girl. While still resisting, the human was starting to learn. He smirked when he thought how easily he could crush her between his servos. The nature of the Bond created a potential weakness that she might be able to exploit. He doubted that would happen, but the benefits made it a necessary risk.

Starscream carefully transformed around her, not wanting to jostle his cargo too much. One of the first things the human, **his** human now, did when she was fully alert was to check on her unusual storage device, even before peering out the side of the jet cockpit. _Interesting._ He couldn't use it, but as good as owned the one who could.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You are going back to Detroit." Hope flared briefly and was quickly replaced by skeptical cynicism. Starscream couldn't quite make out her thoughts, but the logic behind them was so inherently Decepticon that it roused his interest. Was he completely wrong about humans in general, or was his an exception? He supposed it didn't really matter. Like the enigma of her strange storage compartment, he had plenty of time to solve it. He snickered, which turned into crazed laughter when he detected Skyler's terror. Starscream briefly considered telling her he wasn't going to kill her, it was in his best interests to keep her online, but it was too much fun scaring the figurative Spark out of the organic.

'_Back to Detroit.' Actually keeping his promise? Yeah, __right__._ Starscream sniggered. _I __knew__ it!_ But sure enough, the jet landed near the outskirts of Detroit. She could only stare as the cockpit hatch opened.

"Well?" Starscream snapped.

Skyler jumped and scrambled quickly out, turning to look at him incredulously

"Be careful," he growled after a short pause, then activated his thrusters and flew out of sight.

_I...what?_ Skyler shook her head in confusion. _Tell me he did not just say that._

She repositioned her backpack and started walking, debating where to go. She'd rather not head home just now, not to an empty apartment. _Don't I have my phone with me somewhere? _It was buried in her backpack under a pile of

The call switched to voice mail. "Hi, you've reached the Witwicky's. Please leave your name, number, and reason for calling after the beep!" Skyler sighed. "Hey Spike, it's me. I was just calling to let you know-"

The phone clicked and a young man's voice said excitedly "Skyler? Omigawd, girl, where've you been? When you didn't show up for work I was worried sick!"

"Heh, yeah, I was um...busy... How's the old man doing? His arm any better?"

"Yeah, dad's already complaining about the cast. He - ...Hey! Don't change the subject! I doubt you called just to check how he was."

Skyler sighed. "It's a really long story. Right now I just need a place to crash for a few days and I could kill for a hot shower and a warm meal."

"Sure thing, come on over! But you owe me an explanation!"

"I'll be there shortly," she promised and then hung up the phone.

* * *

**A/N** - DeceptionisDecepticon reminded me that there are two types of Spark Bonds. Here, it is equivalent to the Guardian Bond. Spark Mating is **completely** different.

Before you get on my case about Stephenie Meyer, a friend suggested using The Host. I wanted a book with aliens on Earth, wanting something to do with humans. She suggested the Animorph series first, but it's for younger people and isn't as widely known.

This is an AU, "Alternate Universe," where instead of being killed by Megatron, he was just beaten and left, as in other continuities. I find it hard to believe he'd completely hidden all traces of any treachery for 4 million years. It took Megatron by complete surprise in the show. Obviously this whole story would be impossible without Starscream possessing a Spark.

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** - Why Spike/Sam and Sparkplug Witwicky? The Unicron Trilogy humans had shallow characters (I liked Alexis, though) and the main Animated humans had different roles. The Witwickys were in the G1 TV shows **and** the live-action movies. And the family structure fits (actually matching that of my best friend's).

Sorry this took so long. Anyways, I just finished all my midterms (yay!) and several papers and decided to celebrate.

Thanks to everybody who subscribed or added this to their favorite stories! The Dark Angel Hanyou, Amber of the Mallrats, Kira Fuego, CharmedSerenity. I love reader feedback!

**Anonybot** - That would be telling, now, wouldn't it? :P Wait and see.

**9aza** - Thanks for sticking with me for so long, I really appreciate you reviewing each chapter. :D

* * *

"I'm so sorry to bother you. I know it's late in the afternoon," Skyler apologized.

"No problem! We've been covering for each other since, like, kindergarten!" The energetic young man smiled, then paused, grimacing and waving a hand in front of his nose. "Wow, you weren't kidding about the shower. Your hair's a total mess and what's with all the oil stains. That story's just going to have to wait until you've cleaned up."

She nodded gratefully and walked down the hallway. Spike watched her go, then glanced down as tiny paws batted at his leg. "Silly kitten, you happy to see her again?" A little grey cat sat up on its hind legs, batting at the air and chirping. "Okay already, I'll get your string." He sat down on the lounge chair, dangling and old shoelace over the back, listening to the sound of the running shower.

_Girl looked like she'd been to hell and back!_

He sat up as Skyler entered the room in shorts and a tank top. "Feeling better n- ?" Spike let go of the string in surprise, Spooky wriggling his entire body and pouncing on the dropped toy. "What - where'd you get those bruises?"

She glanced down and reddened. "Ah. Shit. Um, that's...kinda...hard to explain."

"You can explain to the doctor when we get there. Those look serious."

* * *

The doctor walked off with his automaton assistant to study the x-rays. Skyler drummed her fingers on the table restlessly as her friend began, "Last I heard was you were looking for a job after the roof over dad's garage fell in."

"Yeah, I didn't have any luck the first couple of days, so I took a break from my search. Did you hear about the Decepticon scare a few days ago? I was eating lunch and they landed in the next street over. I ran off and hid until they left."

Spike grinned cheekily. "You trip over some garbage or something? I swear, you're so oblivious to your surroundings sometimes."

"Har de har har her," She rolled her eyes and slugged his shoulder, wincing as her arm protested violently. "I, ran into a guy, literally, and well-" _How am I gonna pull this off? The media would go __nuts__ if they found out and I'd __never__ be left alone._ "-turns out he was in a bit of trouble with the authorities and sorta car-jacked me to get away. Wait, is it still considered car-jacking if it's his car? Anyways he had me get some stuff he'd left behind. Couldn't do it himself or he'd get caught. I fixed his ride and then he dropped me off downtown."

Her brother rolled his eyes. "Nice story, but why do I get the feeling you're not telling me everything?"

She winced. "Look, you really don't want to know the details." Something in her tone made Spike back off. They both turned to see the doctor walk back in, carrying a clipboard with a serious look on his face.

"Skyler W. Farrier, the scans turned up a hairline fracture in your radius, but it's not serious enough for a cast. You should be fine with a splint; just take it easy for a week or so. Apart from that and the bruises, you're fine."

"Great! Can we go now?" the woman asked, standing up quickly. _I just want to go home, get back to work, and forget about __everything__!_

"Not just yet, there's someone who wants to ask you a few questions." The medical bot' moved away from the door as another robot walked in. Bigger, but the black and gold machine barely had to stoop to get through the opening.

_Uh oh. I didn't consider the Autobots._ She paled and the doctor continued. "The pattern of bruises concerned me and the Detroit police contacted the Autobots."

The Autobot Prowl's optics flicked over her arms, pausing at each brown-blue mark. "The medic described your injuries and thought they resembled giant finger marks. I concur. It appears you had a close encounter with Decepticons."

Skyler looked at the ground as Spike turned to her, an incredulous expression on his face. "Decepticons? You said it was a guy running from the law! You...lied to me?"

She faced him, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "No! I told you the truth!" _But I didn't, not really._

Prowl crouched down to the humans' level and said gently, "It's alright, you're safe now. But I need you to tell what happened."

Skyler wiped at her eyes with a sleeve. "Like I said: ran from that big dumb Decepticon and the nutcase, met a guy, held as a hostage, helped him get what he wanted, was let go." She crossed her arms and stared at the wall. _Why can't he just butt out?_ She knew she was acting like a temperamental child, but she didn't really care at the moment.

Prowl lifted an optical ridge. "Is that so? Well, we can rule out Lugnut, he has two pincers instead of a four-one servo arrangement and Megatron hasn't been detected within a hundred miles of Detroit since he first appeared. That leaves Blitzwing, which might explain why you're here alive. Did his random personality take over?"

"No, it wasn't a Decepticon. I don't know why you're wasting your time," she insisted stubbornly.

The doctor shrugged when Prowl shot a querulous look at him. The Autobot said, "If you change your mind, just contact Captain Fanzone," and moved for the door.

"Whatever."

* * *

Starscream devoted a portion of his attention to where the human was going. When she went to remove the grime, he backed off. Humans associated their exposed bodies with interfacing, which made no sense to him, but then few organic actions were rational.

Skyler was taken to a human med-bay and examined. _Earthlings are so fragile, it's a wonder they've managed to survive for so long._

He continued to work on modifying the explosive in front of him, trying to make it harder to disarm and less likely to go off before the timer ran out. So easy to make, but Megatron seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to the traps. His human's fluctuating emotions were distracting but he couldn't wall them off; he needed to make sure she wouldn't betray him.

A sudden spike in the girl's emotions caused him to drop the device he was working on. Luckily he hadn't added the combustive material yet. Starscream went to retrieve the soon-to-be explosive. _Now, what - _The device hit the ground again, unnoticed this time.

Starscream was furious. He'd spared the fleshling's life and even let her go close to her home, and what did she do as soon as she was back? Run to the Autobots.

His anger growing, he listened closer. _No_, he realized, studying the human's thoughts and feelings intently, _she didn't_. Starscream was stunned. _I misjudged the human._ Instantly suspicious he wondered _Why?_ She couldn't have known he was observing, or even that he was able to.

Starscream snickered at her descriptions of Lugnut and Blitzwing. _"Nutcase" is a more than apt description for the triple-changer, and as for Lugnut..._

When the Autobot left, he caught the reason for Skyler's silence. Starscream laughed hysterically, pounding the table with a clenched servo in his mirth, leaving small craters. Doubled over, he wheezed, "What a...selfish...little..." breaking off when his vocal processor was unable to form words past his sniggers.

She was only thinking about how **she **would be inconvenienced and that the fewer reminders she had of her time in the caves, the better. Starscream's thin mouth curled upward in a sneer. _I am afraid, little fleshling, that you will not be able to simply __**forget**__ me._

* * *

The trip back from the hospital was quiet. Spike still insisted on driving 'just to be safe.'

"Looks like you'll be staying with me for a little while. I got the spare room cleaned out, but Dad will need it after tonight; he's finding it hard to be home alone with one arm disabled."

"Oh, the couch is fine. I can get an apartment once I find a new place to work."

"Well, if you're okay with that... We'll pick him up sometime tomorrow."

* * *

Skyler knew she was dreaming, but the memories were so vivid. It started off with visions from the last few days, shifting to flashes of things she couldn't possibly have seen herself. A small round object blinking red, a surge of vindictive hope, and then a growing fireball. She began to panic, the emotion entirely her own, when something wet poked her face. The woman woke up to find Spooky nudging her with his cold nose, hoping to be petted.

She turned to look out the window. It was roughly dark-thirty in the morning. Skyler sighed and began scratching the cat behind his ears. Spooky purred. Still partly asleep, she grasped for the fading images. "What was with that weird dream?" she asked the grey kitten. He stopped purring and looked at her, appearing mysterious and full of knowledge in that strange feline way. For a minute she thought the cat would actually answer, but then he abruptly decided that he needed a bath, starting with his tail end.

"Oh, that's nice. Really classy, you stupid cat!" Skyler shoved Spooky roughly off the twin bed but the cat managed to land somewhat gracefully. Smoothing down ruffled fur, the kitten sauntered off to find his food dish.

_I'm just so __tired__; didn't get much sleep in the - in the cave_. It felt weird to be in a bed again. Oddly enough, Starscream's armor had been comfortable. Skyler rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head. _Stop thinking about it!_ She hoped the unusual dreams would stop.

A large, soft object hit her in the face, rudely awakening her. Tangled in the blankets, Skyler flailed around for the object. She sat up and blinked the sleep from her eyes. She was holding a pillow and someone was laughing. "Spike! You're an inconsiderate jerk!" Skyler threw the pillow at him and missed by a huge margin. Her intended target fell over laughing.

"Couldn't...resist!" he gasped.

Skyler sighed and moved to get out of bed, then stopped. "I thought you said you cleaned this room!"

"I - I did!" Spike said, still giggling.

"How do you live with this clutter? Never mind. I'll clean up in here if you go clean the kitchen; I just know it's a mess, too." Her dad would be disappointed at the state of his son's house.

Spike grumbled and reluctantly agreed. Skyler rolled her eyes and began straightening the bedsheets, placing the pillow on top. Music started playing he must have turned the kitchen stereo on. Stopping what she was doing, the woman cocked her head to listen.

Oh, I don't know why you're not there  
I give you my love, but you don't care  
So what is right and what is wrong  
Gimme a sign

What is love  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me no more  
What is love  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me no more

...

All the time I wasted on you  
All the bullshit you put me through  
I'm checking into rehab 'cause everything that we had  
Didn't mean a thing to you

I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover  
I love you forever, but now I'm sober

...

Are we an item? Girl quit playing  
"We're just friends"  
What are you sayin?  
said theres another and looked right in my eyes  
My first love broke my heart for the first time,

And I was like  
Baby, ba -

"Alright, that's enough. I draw the line at Bieber." Skyler reached around the kitchen threshold and turned the music player off. "What, did Carly dump you **again**?"

"Yes," he sulked.

"You'd think he'd be used to it by now," she muttered, turning to the sink. Gradually she became aware of the sense that something was watching her.

"Spike! Do something to make your freaky cat stop staring at me!"

"Skyler? Are you sure you're okay?"

She turned around. "What?" Then she saw the gray kitten. His head was buried in his kibble. Skyler blinked. Weird. "Just let me finish washing off these pans, and then we can go get Dad."

Spike kept the car keys. Skyler protested weakly, her heart not really in it. The creepy feeling of being followed was justifiable on the road; that grey car was right on their bumper for several miles but then made a separate turn.

She stayed in the car, thinking, while Spike helped his father with the luggage. She just couldn't figure it out and it was driving her nuts. Skyler clambered into the back seat, pushing the boxes to the side so her father could sit in the front.

When they got home, Skyler started a pot of coffee, listening to Spike and Sparkplug talking about the damage the roof sustained. _There it is again._ Something was definitely watching her. _It's not my imagination._

::I see you have learned to use the Spark Bond.::

::I - :: _What the hell was that?_ She'd recognize that voice anywhere. ::Starscream! Are you reading my mind?::

::Not exactly. Merely sensing the direction of your thoughts.::

::You didn't say **anything** about this!::

::**Didn't** I? Hmm, I seem to recall mentioning that I would be able to monitor you...::

Skyler was brought back to reality by Sparkplug waving one hand in her face and snapping his fingers. "Everything all right? You were staring off into space with a blank look on your face."

Starscream snickered.

::Do you mind?::

::Oh, but of course. Pardon me,:: he said snidely and withdrew.

Sparkplug was worried. "You're not high, are you?"

She sighed in exasperation. "No, Dad, I'm not on drugs; just spacing for a minute."

He looked concerned, but let it go, resuming his discussion with Spike on which repair company would be best for the job. Skyler went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She wanted a little bit of privacy for this. Reaching out with her mind, searching, she encountered something huge and inherently different...**alien**.

A faint impression of surprise accompanied his words, ::You learn quickly. What do you want?::

::Just wondering if there was anything else you neglected to tell me. I think I understand why it's called the "Spark" Bond, that orb in your chest...::

Starscream chuckled. ::**Clever** human. You are correct. That 'orb' was my Spark. From what I understand, your heart is similar in concept.::

Skyler frowned, wondering what exactly she'd touched. ::I still don't understand why this is happening.::

::As I said, you interest me.::

::Right. Considering you threatened to kill me multiple times, I find that hard to believe.::

He burst out laughing. ::That was my first reason. You knew I could have easily destroyed you, and you were terrified, yet you fought and insulted me.:: Starscream chuckled wryly. ::Very few organics would be so brave.::

She didn't understand why he thought that was funny, instead of being offended at her rudeness.

::In addition, your repairs, while rudimentary, were not unskilled.::

Skyler looked down at the tile floor, feeling embarrassed at the unexpected compliment. ::It wasn't really...::

::You demean your talents,:: he said curtly, annoyed at the interruption.

That got her attention. ::What?:: When Starscream didn't answer, she continued, ::So what do **you** get out of this?::

::What makes you think I'd tell you?:: the Decepticon snarled, her sense of him fading.

::Wait!:: she pleaded. Skyler felt Starscream focus on her again.

::What?:: he snapped, the touch of his mind returning.

::It's not...it's not anything bad, is it? Please tell me! It's nothing that will hurt me, right?:: she begged him.

Starscream paused, apparently deliberating. ::No,:: he said at last, ::you will not be harmed.:: He sneered at Skyler's relief. ::Don't get any ideas, human. Remember, I said you will not be harmed, but that does not change the fact that you still belong to me.::

The feeling was domineering and so overwhelmingly possessive that it made her feel like gagging.

::You are **mine** now, girl,:: he positively purred. Laughing cruelly, Starscream left and Skyler was standing alone in front of the bathroom mirror.

Her life was quickly spiraling out of her control. She hadn't felt this helpless since she being called to the principal's office back in kindergarten and hearing that her parents had just died in an industrial accident. And if word got out that she had been kidnapped by Starscream, let alone the details of this "Spark Bond," the media-frenzy would be nothing compared to the publicity of two of Sumdac System's senior researcher's work-related demise.

_I can't let anyone know. Not just for my peace of mind, but to protect Spike and Dad from the media __**and**__ from Starscream._

It was weird, but somehow she knew the Decepticon was telling the truth when he said it wouldn't hurt her. She should have had no idea if he was lying or not, but Skyler had felt his sincerity. Even with that promise, Starscream still scared the living daylights out of her.

* * *

Carly's latest excuse for cheating on him was that he was 'too nice' and she needed 'a **real** man' in her life, not some 'pansy.'

Spike was hurt deeply. He didn't see anything wrong with being nice and treating women with respect. He'd always been the even-tempered child in the family. While Skyler was apt to start punching things as soon as the situation got out of hand, he could usually calm down the other person by talking them out of it. He often complained that he had to clean up his sister's messes. She retorted that she had to look out for him just as often.

Spike entered the bathroom to see Skyler, pale and shaking, gripping the sink as if her life depended on it. She looked up quickly at the sound of the door opening, wearing an expression of pure, overwhelming terror that dissipated into vague annoyance so fast that he wondered if he'd seen it at all.

"What?" she asked.

Taken aback, Spike replied, "Dad just wanted to know if you were okay."

Skyler wiped a shaky hand across her forehead. "Yeah, I-I think I'm alright now. Just a headache."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to get started on the garage, but if you aren't feeling well..."

"I'm **fine** now," she said, trying to convince herself. She wanted to confide in him. Wasn't that what family was for? Transitioning from 'playmates' to 'siblings' when her parents died had been difficult for both of them. When just a few short years later his mother finally succumbed to cancer, they'd had to rely on each other. They still did. But it wouldn't be fair to him; it wouldn't make her feel better, he'd be even more worried, and there wasn't anything he could do anyways.

Spike sighed. "Let's go see what we can clean up before the construction crew gets here."

* * *

**A/N** - Spike reminds me of my best friend's fiancé. He's a big sweetie.

I used the lyrics from three songs: Haddaway - What Is Love, Boys Like Girls - Love Drunk, and Justin Bieber - Baby. (ducks) Sorry, Bieber's lyrics fit and my good friend **loves** that song. She hates Bieber, but loves the song (is that nuts, or what?).

Spooky is the name of another friend's kitten, who she _swears_ is the spawn of the Devil. I've never actually seen him, but my brother has a gray runt that is completely psychotic and apparently thinks she's a dog.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** - There's more! I'm not sure how many chapters it will break into, but there's _lots_ more coming. I meant to have this done by New Year's, but kept procrastinating. Don't think I'll be giving my chapters titles. It's too much work to come up with something fitting and/or clever/witty.

I'm glad Skyler seems real. It's really hard to create and write a completely separate persona and keep it from becoming a Mary Sue.

I saw the TF3 trailers! Eeep! Can't wait!

And somehow I completely missed the release of a new Transformers series. I feel like an idiot. An _oblivious_ idiot. An "obliviot". I was uncertain about TFP's Starscream, but I find I'm liking him more and more as the series goes on. I don't like Megatron, though. Bleh. Episode 9 came out last night! Yay!

Sorry about the almost-four-month gap between updates. I'll try to keep the chapters coming at more regular intervals.

* * *

It had taken a lot of coaxing from her family to convince Skyler to leave the house. Wide-open spaces made her jittery, and combined with the...incident...she was quite twitchy.

It didn't help that Starscream bothered her from time to time. When he did say something, it was usually in the form of sarcastic comment or insult at something happening to or around her. Spike started calling her "butterfingers" because she tended to drop whatever she was holding at the time.

Eventually Skyler had had enough and snapped back. Starscream was amused and almost...disappointed...when that was the extent of her defiance. _He **wants** me to resist! _The only thing she **could** do was to ignore Starscream. It often worked; the Decepticon was deprived of a response and thus quickly grew bored of taunting her.

As Skyler got used to his oily voice, she was able to tell more often when he was listening in. But she still wasn't very good at it, which caused more than a few problems.

* * *

::You're a medic?:: Starscream said in a surprised tone.

Skyler stood up quickly, cracking her head against the raised hood of the car. "**OW**!"

Her brother's voice came through the open door. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just hit my head," she said, rubbing the injured area. ::I'm a what?::

::M e d i c,:: he said slowly, in the manner of someone speaking to a complete idiot. ::That could explain your familiarity with Cybertronian systems.::

::What? I-I guess...: Skyler said doubtfully, turning back to the car. She didn't want to talk to him right now. She didn't want to talk to Starscream **at all** but she didn't really have a choice, did she?

Something approached from behind. Skyler dodged to the left without wondering why. She was just in time for a flexible arm smashed where she had been standing just a moment before.

Skyler turned. It was a roughly human-sized automaton with two tentacle arms for washing windows. The bot struck again and she grabbed its arms before it could hit her.

_Where's that stupid brother of mine?_ Straining to hold onto the wildly flailing appendages, she shrieked, "**Samuel James Witwicky**, get your butt in here, **now**!"

Spike came rushing in. "What?" Then he saw the bot. "Oops, I must not have removed the power supply."

"Tell me something I **don't** already know!" Skyler yelled.

He darted forward and yanked out the battery housing, sending the drone crashing to the ground.

Spike dragged the automaton back to his workplace as Skyler surveyed the damage. There was a huge dent in the car's hood.

_Damn. I don't know how we're going to fix that._ She walked forward to make sure nothing important had been damaged.

::How did you do that?::

Skyler was distracted. ::I...what?:: she asked absently, focused on the problem right in front of her.

"Ow, ow, **ow**!" _What's going on?_ She dropped to her knees, clutching her head. It felt like her head was splitting open. _Starscream._ Dissatisfied with her answer, the Decepticon was picking through her mind to find what he wanted to know.

Skyler threw up one arm in front of her face, wishing the pain was physical, something that could be stopped by a wall between the cause and the target.

Immediately, the pain stopped, as did Starscream's probe. He seemed to be feeling around some sort of barrier. Annoyed, he asked again, ::How did you do that?::

_Do what?_ She couldn't tell him what she didn't know.

::You're shielding; I can't hear you,:: Starscream growled.

_Shielding?_ That wall...that wall she'd imagined...it was **real**? She could block him out?_ Well, **that's** good to know._ Hesitantly, Skyler pulled down the guard. ::How did I do what?:: she asked, afraid he'd think she was pretending to not understand. She didn't want to go through that pain again.

::Somehow you **knew** that drone was attacking. How? **How** could you know?::

Skyler studied the crumpled chassis. ::I don't...I don't actually know. I can't really remember a time when I **couldn't**. So I don't know what might have caused it::

::You can sense when you're being attacked?::

::Only by machines. And obviously not **every** time or I would've been able to avoid **you**,:: she said bitterly. It would have better if she had.

Skyler felt as though she were being studied in fascination. ::You are **far** more interesting than I originally thought.::

She scowled. ::I don't see that as such a good thing.::

Starscream just laughed.

* * *

So she could block him out of her mind, but it took a **lot** of concentration to do so. On the other hand, it irritated Starscream and he couldn't do anything about it. She thought he was more annoyed about being ignored than he was by not getting what he wanted.

Since she couldn't come up with an adequate excuse to stay home, she'd been sent grocery shopping.

"Hi there!"

_Huh?_ There was no one around.

"Your name is Skyler, right?" It was coming from the bright yellow car!

"Ah!" Skyler yelped and took a step backward, tripping over the curb and landing on her back. _Ow._

A dark-skinned girl stood over her. "Sorry about that." She turned to the car. "Way to go, Bumblebee, you scared her!"

_Bumblebee? The Autobot?_

::Why does it seem that you attract Cybertronians?:: Starscream wondered_._

::Damned if **I** know.::

::Pretend you don't know him,:: the Decepticon suggested.

::Buzz off, I don't need you telling me what to do!::

He commented snidely, ::You sound like a rebellious Sparkling.::

::Shut up.::

"Something wrong?" the girl wondered.

"Peachy. Just a ginormous headache because some idiot thought it would be a neat idea to scare me half to death."

::That works, too.::

::**Shut. Up.**::

"I **said** 'sorry!' You **are** Skyler? Prowl said we should see how you were doing."

"And you are?"

"That's Bumblebee, he's an Autobot - "

"So I gathered," Skyler said wryly.

"And **my** name's Sari Sumdac."

"Sumdac? As in, **Professor** Sumdac? You're Isaac's kid?"

The 8-year-old was confused. "You're on first-name terms with my dad **and** you were kidnapped by Decepticons? You must lead a busy life!"

Skyler growled, "Wrong on both counts." She stood up and brushed her clothes off. "My folks used to work for the Professor. Subatomic particle physics, not servo-mechanics."

"**Used** to work? What do they do now?"

"Decomposing. They've been dead two decades."

Sari's face fell. "Oh. I didn't know."

"It's alright; you couldn't have known." She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand. _I'm going to have a massive headache later._ "I heard about your dad and that sleazeball Powell, hope he turns up soon. Anyways, you can tell Prowl, **again**, that I'm **fine** and was abducted by some jerk with an ego the size of the moon and fewer brains than a slime mold, **NOT** a Decepticon, whatever your friend may think."

::I resent that remark,:: Starscream said indignantly.

::You wouldn't have **heard** 'that remark' if you'd been minding your own business!::

::Sparkling,:: he repeated.

Skyler groaned and face-palmed, interrupting Sari, who hadn't realized when the conversation became a monologue and was **still** talking.

"What's the matter? You didn't get a concussion, did you?"

_I can't hold two conversations at the same time!  
_

"No, just got to get back with the groceries. M' foster dad broke his arm and I've been helping him out while he recovers."

Bumblebee chirped, "I could give you a ride. Where does he live?"

The dark-haired woman scowled. "You only want to know so you can pester me about the **supposed** Decepticon kidnapping-thing."

An audio clip played. Methinks she doth protest too much.

Skyler sighed. "If you insist."

Sari put her hands on her hips. "Are you always this grouchy?"

"Stressful week. My work site was demolished and now I'm being pestered by giant alien robots because some crook held me hostage for a few days."

::Yes, that includes **you**, '_Screamer_'::

::If you are trying to irritate me into leaving you alone, it won't work.::

::Do you enjoy making my life a living hell?::

::Perhaps.:: He was obviously smirking.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Skyler muttered.

"Who are you talking to?" the young girl asked.

"Just myself, questioning my sanity."

::You're not crazy. Blitzwing, now **Blitzwing** is crazy...::

::And I'm just insulting a voice I keep hearing in my head?::

Bumblebee opened the doors of his vehicle mode so the two girls could set the groceries inside. /Prowl,/ he sent over the Autobot frequency, /I checked up on Skyler like you asked. She keeps staring off into space and talking to herself. She still says she wasn't kidnapped by Decepticons. Do you think she was just really scared of what happened?/

/That makes sense. Strongly negative experiences can cause what is known as post-traumatic stress disorder. Ratchet, what is your opinion as a medic?/

/It is possible, but I'm not too sure. Bumblebee, run a scan and see if you can pick up any Cybertronian radiation around her./

He did so. /No. Just Sari's key./

/You sure of that, kid? No communications devices of any kind?/

/Sure I'm sure!/ he replied hotly. Bumblebee paused. /Why, doc-bot? Do you know something we don't?/

/Just a theory at this point./ Ratchet broke off the transmission so Bumblebee returned his attention to the conversation Sari and Skyler were having.

"So what's your foster dad do?" Sari asked.

"He owns his own garage, where we repair cars as well as personal automatons for people who don't want to pay more money for Sumdac Systems to officially investigate. I work there."

"What's the matter, flunked out of college?" Sari joked.

The corner of Skyler's mouth curved upward into a wry smile. "Actually, I wrote my doctoral thesis on the potential development of teleportation using sub-particles. It's really more of a 'What If' paper than anything else," she shrugged, "but it fulfilled the requirements. Mom and Dad left more than enough money for the tuition. I don't really have to worry about a job, but I enjoy fixing cars, so I help run the garage. It gives me something to do as well as keep me grounded in reality. Plus it's hard to feel superior when you're covered in old motor oil and burns from an overheated radiator."

"So then why did you bother getting a Ph.D. if you don't use it?"

Skyler shrugged. "Dunno, I guess I thought it was what my parents would have wanted."

It was very strange to see the steering wheel and gear stick moving on their own and a young girl sitting in the driver's seat. Bumblebee looked **exactly** like a normal car. It was even weirder than Starscream's jet mode; since Skyler didn't know what the inside of a jet was **supposed** to look like she wouldn't know how accurate it was.

She reluctantly gave directions to Spike's house, which was next-door to the garage. _Maybe they'll drop me off and then leave, or is that too much to ask for?_

"Here, let me help you carry those!" Sari offered.

Wordlessly, Skyler handed over some of the bags. She braced herself and knocked on the front door.

Spike opened it. "Skyler! Back alrea..." he trailed off. "Wow. Hi!"

Skyler went out into the garage while Spike talked to Sari and Bumblebee. "Wish they'd leave me alone," she said to herself, arranging the various tools. "Nothing happened anyway."

"We hope you might tell us more information about what **really** happened to you."

She jumped and knocked a wrench to the floor with a loud clang. "Ah! Who - !" Skyler looked around wildly. "Oh. **You** again," she said flatly. Somehow she hadn't noticed the motorcycle's presence. "Don't you have anything **better** to do than hassle me about a random thug?"

"You haven't told us everything."

When she only looked at him sullenly, Prowl continued, "I realize you may be hurting without your family but that's no - "

"**What?**" _You did **not** just say that! _"My parents are long dead. They have **nothing** to do with any of this!" she snarled, grief flaming into rage. "What could you **possibly** gain by reminding me that they're gone?"

Prowl was taken aback at her angry outburst. Perhaps he'd taken the wrong approach.

Skyler turned back to the shelves, pointedly ignoring him. After a few moments, she heard the Autobot transform back into his vehicle mode and drive away.

_It's not fair! I didn't want any part of this and now I've been almost literally dragged straight into the middle of **their** war!_

The encounter with Prowl and Bumblebee reminded Skyler that they (or Prowl at least) still didn't believe her. She wondered if it would have been easier if she'd told them the truth the first time they'd asked.

_What could I have said anyways? "Yeah, Starscream held me hostage for a few days. I, um, helped him several times. Then he just let me walk away."_

Right. That would have gone over like a ton of bricks. _'Course, now that Starscream decided to elaborate on this 'Spark Bond' I know that he'd know if I told. So I can't. Even if I wanted to, I can't_.

::A **wise** decision.::

_Shit! Should've **known** he'd be listening to that._ ::Get out of my head!::

::I need to know you won't tell the Autobots what **really** happened.::

::Well, now you know. Leave me alone!:: Then it dawned on her. With a sinking feeling, Skyler continued, ::You **enjoy** tormenting me. **That's** part of why you did this to me!::

::Merely **one** of the reasons, yes. I **knew** you would figure that out eventually,:: Starscream sneered.

It just felt **wrong** to help him in any way, but if she were to confess now, she'd have to explain why she lied in the first place when she didn't know he could hear her, and then every time after that when she **did** know.

And it had become a matter of pride now. Skyler didn't want to admit to anyone how afraid she'd been, the guilt she'd felt at not running when she had the chance, that she'd helped him, **anything** about the Bond she had with him. She didn't want anyone's pity and was determined to find a solution **herself**.

* * *

After Sari and the Autobots left, Spike was more than a little worried. Something was seriously wrong with Skyler.

Whatever had happened while she was a prisoner, it had obviously traumatized her. Skyler was a **terrible** liar, so Spike believed her when she said it wasn't a Decepticon. Still...the fact that she didn't want to talk about it **at all** meant she was scared even when she was safe at home.

_I'd better go check on her._ He pushed open the door to the garage. "Sky? You still in here?"

No answer. _Where is she?_ Spike walked over to the car that was currently occupying the center of the workspace. When he got to the other side, he saw Skyler passed out, unconscious, on the floor.

"Skyler!" He shook her. "Are you okay? Come on, wake up!"

* * *

**A/N -** Cliffie! I know, I'm evil like that.

So I used the live-action Sam's full name for Spike. They never tell you his middle name in G1. Or **any** of the humans that hang out with the Autobots in the various continuities.

Skyler has agoraphobia. It's pretty much the opposite of claustrophobia, the fear of tight spaces. Instead of freaking out in an elevator, she'd avoid a park or large mall (Yeah, it's real. It exists.). Neither of those phobias is pleasant to see a friend suffer from.

I got the idea when I was reading some fan-fiction (Strawberrytop007, if you want to know) and was wondering about the Spark Bond and why it exists. Why is it not mentioned in the canon? (I know the Bond is a fan idea, but what if it wasn't? What motive would the Cybertronians have to keep it a secret?)

Skyler - I think she resembles my two best friends more than me. I can't think of any one thing that inspired her. The Ph.D. is sort of an inside joke with my friends. =P More on that later.

Slime molds are possibly the simplest form of "animal" but they are simply **fascinating** from a biochemical standpoint.

REVIEW PLEASE! I thrive on feedback!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - **Many different people have been viewing my story so far. Several of you subscribed and/or added this to your favorite stories! While that fills me with joy, my shriveled ego craves feedback! **REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

So you might have noticed I have a new story, Double Trouble, and that it uses Skyler. It's not a sequel to WTAS, it's a type of story often called a "companion piece," which means that it has no direct impact on the full story (might be mentioned, might not) but still uses the same backstory.

Since I love how Wikipedia summarizes things - _A **companion piece** is a creative work that is produced as a complementary work to another stand-alone project, but storywise has nothing to do with its predecessor. While a companion piece does not necessarily need to take place within the same "universe" as the predecessor, it must follow-up on specific themes and ideas introduced in the original work. It must also be intentionally meant by its creator to be viewed alongside or within the same context as the earlier work._

Anyways, if you're waiting on **those** chapters, they'll have to wait so that I don't spoil WTAS events (since Double Trouble starts further on in the WTAS timeline). But since episodes 11 and 12 have come out, I have made some slight alterations to my planned storyline (I'm bringing Vince in). And I saw a preview of episode 13 - Sick Mind. http:/ tfw2005 .com /transformers-news /transformers-prime-39/transformers-prime-episode-13-sick-mind-preview-clip-171973/ Do you think "Cortical Psychic patch" is a reference to Spark Bonding? *fan-girl squealing* (I never watched Beast Wars, but I'm told it's a visual link between one bot's optics and another's)

* * *

"Are you or have you ever been anorexic or bulemic?"

"No."

"Is there a chance you might be pregnant?" *

"No - wait...**WHAT?**"

"I have to ask."

Skyler was rather mortified. No, she was **not** pregnant!

"No family history of diabetes? Of any kind."

She sighed. "No. "

The nurse looked disgruntled. "Well, there is nothing medically or physically wrong with you. My only guess is lack of oxygen. What do you remember?"

What **did** she remember? Well, other than yelling at Starscream** again** for being a sadistic jerk... "I was fixing a dent in my car."

"Were you maybe hyperventilating?"

"**No!**" There was a shocked pause. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that. Ugh," Skyler rubbed her forehead. "I feel like crap. Look, otherwise I'm **fine** now, okay? Just tired. Can we go home now?"

Spike glanced at the nurse. "There's no reason for me to keep you here," the nurse said, and excused herself by claiming a need to see to her next patient. There was an unusual note at the bottom of Skyler's chart...

* * *

"No, I really don't know what happened." _But I think I know who **might**_, Skyler added silently.

She waited until they were in the car and Spike would be too busy driving to pay attention to any lapse of focus on her part.

::Why do I get the feeling **you're** behind this?::

::I don't need to explain myself to you, human!::

_He didn't deny it!_ In fact, Starscream had essentially confessed.

Angry, Skyler reached out, wanting to know exactly **what** it was he had done. She knew it was possible, after all, Starscream had tried it on her. Skyler should have more success, though; he was thinking about what she wanted to know. And he wouldn't be expecting it.

She encountered a flux of emotions: annoyance, he hadn't wanted Skyler to know what he'd done; disgust, he'd needed a human's help; anger, he failed to destroy Megatron **again**; and pain, he had been hurt, badly. And was **still** injured, despite sapping Skyler's energy to heal himself.

Through the Bond, one Partner could be healed by the other's energy. She had fainted when the loss became too much. Shortly thereafter, he'd stopped draining her strength.

::You could've killed me!:: she said in shock. Skyler felt a flash of anger from Starscream and a sudden constriction in her torso. If she wasn't currently looking through the car's windshield at the streets of Detroit, she would have **sworn** that Starscream's servos were wrapped around her, squeezing.

::**You. Are. _MINE_**,:: he spat, the bands tightening until it was hard for Skyler to breathe. ::You should just be grateful I didn't take any more of your energy than I already have!:: Abruptly, the pressure vanished. Returning to a lower volume, Starscream purred, ::Besides, your **true value** lies elsewhere.:: Skyler felt a light brush in her mind. It felt like...a caress.

_Oh, **hell** no!_ She managed not to gag in revulsion but Starscream felt her discomfort anyways and chuckled. She was furious, but there was nothing she could **do**; as the last few weeks had proven, there was surprisingly little either of them could do to the other through the mind link and Skyler knew she didn't stand a chance against him in person. She could only argue and yelling would just be a minor annoyance to him.

::**Excellent**. You begin to understand that there is nothing you can do to stop me taking what I want. Just accept that fact and this will be easier on you.:: Starscream brushed against her mind again.

::If it's any consolation,:: he said sardonically, ::I hadn't planned on using you for **that** aspect of the Bond. It simply happened to be more...convenient.::

::Go to hell,:: she said dully.

There was a low chuckle. ::You'll be weak for a little while but that will fade in a few days. Get some rest, child, you'll feel better if you do.::

::Why does it matter how I feel?::

::And why **shouldn't** I take good care of my...property?:: he inquired silkily, waiting for a response.

Skyler wanted to protest, but she was too drained to argue. _Drained_, she thought. _How literal_. So she sighed and slouched down in the passenger seat instead.

Spike glanced over at her. "Soon's we get home, you're going straight to bed." He might have said something more, but it was drowned out by shrill, if grating, maniacal laughter. Unfortunately only Skyler could hear it. _God, that's a hideous noise_, she thought, hands pressed tight against her ears. She met Spike's gaze and said, "Just a headache."

Eventually his laughter died down into the occasional snigger. ::You know I'm right, child. Go, rest. You are of little use to me injured or otherwise functioning at a reduced capacity.::

He was quiet until the two humans got back home and then she felt a light _push _in the direction of her room. Skyler stopped, one hand on the doorknob. ::I'm going to sleep, alright! Leave me alone,:: she snapped. Surprisingly, he did as asked.

When she was sure Starscream was gone, Skyler allowed herself to think about something that had been bothering her. When she broke into his mind, along with the other emotions and sensations, she'd felt pride. That was nothing new; Starscream was egotistical and considered himself superior to everything. But the feeling has been directed at her - he'd been proud of **her** - Starscream had been pleased, not just by her resistance (although he seemed to enjoy **that** too, which Skyler could only attribute to the twisted jet's love of a challenge), but that she'd tried and **succeeded**. It didn't really make any sense.

The impression she got from him was that Starscream **still** didn't really know what he was going to '_use_' her for, merely that she would be '_convenient_' to keep around.

Like earlier today. He'd been cursing his latest defeat by Megatron when he realized that he could speed his repairs by using Skyler.

** _Well, that self-centered, arrogant jerk isn't the only one who can wait for the opportune moment._ If she had to tolerate a power-hungry, sadistic killer in her mind then _dammit_ she was going to get something out of it!

Skyler could '_trust_' him, in the sense that she could rely on a single fact: Starscream would act in his own best interest every time. He wouldn't kill or even hurt her (well, not **too** much...) as long as she was '_useful_' to him. After that, well... all bets were off. And it was a good thing that she could tell when he was lying or dodging the truth, or else dealing with the smarmy 'Con would be **impossible**. Small wonder the Autobots thought that scheming backstabber was so dangerous.

_Schemer, Screamer_. Her thoughts wandered. _So tired..._ Skyler pulled the blankets up and covered her face with a pillow.

* * *

::And how are you feeling today?:: Starscream purred.

::Go away, Starscream,:: she growled.

::Feeling better and back to normal, I see,:: he said in feigned amazement, adding smugly, ::I **told** you you'd recover quickly. I can't be accused of neglecting the care of what's mine.::

Skyler ground her teeth, a strangled noise of rage escaping from her mouth. _ I wonder if it's possible to wring a Cybertronian's neck_. She certainly wouldn't mind **trying**. ::Haven't you caused me enough grief already? Leave me alone, you rusted egotistical scrapheap!::

Starscream chuckled. ::Touchy, aren't we? Very well.::

She rubbed her temples. Skyler was **really** starting to regret Bonding with him. _If I'd known what I was getting into..._ Probably why he didn't explain what it meant **before**. _Yeah, that would've likely been a very emphatic '_no_'._ She had slept for quite awhile; it was mid-morning of the **next** day. _And I'm **still** tired._ "Manipulative son of a bitch," she muttered as she got dressed.

_Coffee. Need coffee._ Skyler stumbled into the kitchen.

* * *

"Police Chief Fanzone just called," Prowl said casually to Ratchet, who was running a simple check over his medical equipment.

"And **why** is that **my** concern? Shouldn't you be informing Prime if it's a security issue?"

"I was just informed that Skyler was admitted to the hospital. She apparently fainted for no reason; her only problem an abrupt decrease in energy. At around the same time, Starscream was seen flying around in better repair than he should have been, considering how badly Megatron damaged him this time." One optic ridge lifted. "As a medic, what does that suggest to you?"

"You know?"

The ninja-bot inclined his helm slightly.

"I should've known you'd heard of it. Part of your ninja-bot training?" Servomotors creaked as Ratchet stood up. "So, what made you think that's the case?"

"Assuming Skyler **was** indeed a Decepticon prisoner, which she still denies, would they really have simply let her go? It obviously wasn't Lugnut or Megatron, although it could have been on his orders. Blitzwing **was** seen in Detroit at the time, but I wasn't too sure. That left Starscream." He paused. "There **is** a certain logic to it."

"True, but the Magnus' orders were clear. No sense in raising a false alarm. Until we know for sure, we can't tell the others."

* * *

"Are you **sure** you're alright?"

_He's just concerned, no need to yell at him. You **have** been acting weird lately._

"I'm fi - " Skyler looked up as, with a loud _crunch_ing noise, the whole roof was torn off.

Her first thought was a knee-jerk reaction - _But we **just** fixed that!_

Two pairs of red optics stared down at them. Lugnut's cyclopean gaze was fixated on his Leader.

Beside her, Spike made a sort of choking noise; apparently he had the same thought. _Oh, this is **so** not good. What the hell do these things want from me **now**?_

"Are you Skyler Farrier, the human who wrote Analysis of the Potential Uses of Quarks for Teleportation?"

"I...ah...um..." she stammered, at a loss for words, "Yes?"

Megatron's optics gleamed and he grabbed her in one large silvery hand. When he pulled her out through the non-existent roof, a loose chunk was knocked free. It fell and hit Spike in the head.

"**Spike**!" she yelled, seeing her brother sprawled next to a large slab of concrete. "No!"

"We have what we came for. **Transform and rise up!**"

Megatron shifted into his vehicle mode. Somehow Skyler wound up in the cockpit. She wasn't sure how but decided it wasn't important as restraints bound her to the seat, rendering her completely immobile. Tears dripped down her face as she remembered her last sight of Spike. _Dead? or just unconscious?...No! he's **got** to be all right! Don't panic, don't panic. Sit quietly and don't speak, don't move, and above all, **don't draw attention**!  
_

Skyler felt completely helpless. She sat in abject misery for a few minutes and then she felt Starscream's mind touch hers.

::**What** is going o- ?:: he demanded, stopping mid-word. ::**Megatron****!**:: he snarled, vicious rage spilling over. Rage and hatred, disgust and loathing, envy and more than a little fear. ::That...that...:: Apparently unable to come up with a suitable epithet, Starscream simply growled. ::Kidnapping **you** in an attempt to get to **me** is low, and stupid as well, even for that piece of **scum**.::

::I - I don't think that's it,:: she stammered. Skyler managed not to flinch when Starscream turned his full attention to her.

::I mean, if this was against you, wouldn't Megatron have said something so that **you** would know? Wouldn't that be the point? And he didn't mention it, he said something about my scientific background. I don't think Megatron...knows.::

::Your logic is sound.:: Starscream mulled the information over. ::Hmm. For the moment, it's good that he is unaware of my claim to you. Don't panic.::

::**No**, I thought I'd become a useless terrified mess,:: Skyler snapped. ::I realize that!::

* * *

Something with an **extremely** foul smell was being waved underneath his nose. _Smelling salts_, his half-conscious mind told him.

"Hey, you okay dere?"

Spike groaned and opened his eyes a tiny amount. "Huh? Wha-..." His voice trailed off as he realized something. "Skyler! Where - ?" He tried to sit up but a strong hand held him down.

"Best to take it easy now."

Forcing his eyelids to open all the way, Spike peered up at the speaker. His vision was rather blurry, but he recognized Police Chief Fanzone. "No! My sister!"

"Someone else was here? 'Ey! Find anyone?" the captain asked an officer.

"Negative."

"The Decepticons!" Spike blurted out. "They attacked! The three of them tore the roof off and... Ow," he said, rubbing his head. "I guess I got hit by a rock."

"Okay den. Get dis guy on a stretcher and headed to the hospital."

"No! Captain Fanzone, my sister... The Decepticons have her! She's the one the Autobots thought had been kidnapped by them before!"

* * *

"Professor Sumdac, you have an assistant to work on the space bridge."

Skyler shuddered at the Decepticon Lord's rich tone. _I swear, whoever runs the universe must **hate** me._ She didn't hear any particular malice, but there was a definite note of **power** and one who was accustomed to being obeyed without delay.

A translucent greenish force field sprang to life, trapping Skyler inside.

She glanced quickly at the original occupant. The Professor understood. Wearily, he said, "I'm left alone when working. As long as I don't make too much noise, they ignore me." Eagerly, he added, "Sari, have you seen how my daughter, Sari, has been doing? Is she alright?"

"She seemed fine when I spoke to her the other day. The Autobots have been taking care of her."

"You talked with my daughter? How do you know her? I don't recognize you. What is your name?"

Skyler flicked her eyes in the direction of the distant Cybertronians and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "I can't really explain and I don't know how to even start, but it's a huge risk. If Megatron finds out the reason behind **why** I was talking to Sari, I'm dead. Or I would soon **wish** I was dead." Isaac Sumdac nodded slowly. "But you would know my parents, Professor. My last name's Farrier."

He gasped softly. "Skyler?"

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly. "Small world, sir." Then she sighed and looked at him pleadingly. "What do they **want**?"

Professor Sumdac sighed, too. "Space Bridges. They wanted me to decipher construction schematics since I'm the world's expert in reverse-engineering..." He winced at the mention of his worst mistake; rebuilding Megatron.

_Urgh. And I thought repairing **Starscream** was something I'd come to regret._ _The poor man has to live with a constant reminder of his biggest failure._ Even considering her Bond with Starscream (and the harassment that came with it), Skyler was still quite a lot better off.

"But this is not even my area of expertise! I do **servo-mechanics**, not **teleportation**." He showed her the computer screen. It had some sort of blueprint or diagram of a weird-looking structure with lines connecting mathematical expressions to various components. They were vaguely familiar.

She was puzzled; where **had** she seen notation like that? And then it clicked. _Quarks. Teleportation. Space Bridge. Oh, God, you've got to be **kidding me**! I'm some kind of expert with this!_

* * *

Bulkhead came running up to the door of the med-bay and poked his head in. "Uh, doc-bot? We got a problem...Megatron was seen in Detroit and he kidnapped a human. Girl named '_Skyler Farrier_'. Does that mean anything to you?"

Prowl and Ratchet exchanged a concerned look, processing the same thought: _This is not good_.

* * *

**A/N - _PLEASE REVIEW!_**

I've got a poll up! Should Sari and Bumblebee Bond? Also, will Sari be revealed as a techno-organic? (this will happen much later on if I don't have her be completely human) Yes/Yes would be strange and kind of hard for me to write (I welcome a challenge, though!) but No/No would be a lot simpler. I can't decide. Please vote!

* This is based on a few experiences I've had with doctors and nurses. When the docs need a look at your gallbladder, they order an abdominal ultrasound...the same technique used to look at fetuses in vitro. Despite me looking anorexic (and my best friend asked my mom point blank if I WAS anorexic) the nurse thought it was because I was pregnant. And if you get a CT scan (or maybe it was the drugs/dyes they injected/had me drink) and are a post-pubescent female, the nurse **has** to ask if there is any chance that you're pregnant. Mum just about **died** laughing at my humiliation. -.- Sadist. This has happened more than once, by the way.

**Captain. **Captain** Jack Sparrow.

Thank God for YouTube playlists; I was able to find the Professor's quote relatively easily.

You **know** you want to click that little button. Just write a few lines, let me know what you liked or didn't like. It helps a lot. Plus I need something interesting to happen during finals week as I study and finish my last overdue paper.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - **No reviews? Really? None for the 6th chapter of this story or the 3rd chapter of "Double Trouble." Please take a few moments of your time to leave a review (even anonymous would be great!). Let me know what you like, what you don't like, don't understand, or want to see. I **love** the Favorite Story and Story Alert alerts I get from you readers, too! Reviews get me motivated and let me know what I'm doing right and how to improve as a writer.

The gap in uploads? Um...Even though I know where I'm taking this story, it's hard to go from the pictures in my head to actual words on the screen that make sense and convey the meaning of what **I** see. I blame my own language malfunction for this; English may be my first and only **real** language (I understand a good deal of Spanish, but I can't speak it worth a darn) but I use it in ways people often don't understand. Let me know if any part in my story isn't clear (it might be deliberate...and then it might not be).

A week and a half left of school! Of course, each day of my May-term course is equivalent to a normal week...and the class is Calculus 3...and it's first thing in the morning...

Enjoy! And now I gotta crack down on my homework that I put off...all weekend.

* * *

_I wanted to create things to **help** people, not instruments of destruction!_ That was why he'd stayed far away from military contracts of any sort. In the meantime, Professor Sumdac could only hope the Autobots stopped Megatron before any of his devices caused too much damage. He wondered what ghost of his past would be slapped in his face next.

Little Skyler had been even younger than Sari when...It had been a long time, but he wouldn't forget the name '_Farrier_' easily. What was it she had said? '_Small world, sir._'

"You seem very calm, considering our present situation," he told her.

Skyler gazed at him steadily. "Trust me," she muttered dryly, "I'm panicking on the inside."

The Professor watched as she turned back to her work. Abruptly she stiffened and knocked a small piece of equipment to the floor. Skyler just stood there frozen for a moment before turning to look at the device as if she had just noticed it. "Shit," she whispered and jerkily bent to retrieve it.

_She's afraid, too. She just doesn't show it the same way_. He was tired of everything going wrong. _My little Sari, I hope you are safe and doing well, wherever you are, and that you don't worry about me too much._

* * *

::What?:: Skyler all but shrieked; the stress and the fear setting her on edge.

::Do you have any idea of your location?::

Skyler glanced around the area. ::Underground somewhere. Other than that, I can't tell.::

::**I** will be the judge of that, human.::

Her forehead creased. ::What do you - ?::

::There is another quality of the Bond, one I have not yet pursued.::

::What **else** haven't you told me?:: Skyler said exasperatedly.

* * *

Starscream paused before answering; he needed to choose his next words **very** carefully. ::I tire of speaking to you like this. Once I have retrieved you from Megatron's servos, **then** I will tell you the rest of what I know about our Bond, personally.:: Then he waited for Skyler's response. How she reacted would determine the way he proceeded.

At first, she was skeptical, then felt relief, which finally changed to a fearful unease. Skyler didn't like giving in **or** the thought of being back in Starscream's possession, but the prospect of being **Megatron's** captive was much worse.

::What do you need to know...that would...help?:: Skyler said slowly.

::Start with the plans for the space-bridge,:: he suggested.

::I don't really understand a lot of it - ::

* * *

::You don't need to,:: Starscream interrupted curtly.

It was a very unusual feeling, a sort of nudging.

::Don't fight me, this is hard enough as is,:: Starscream admonished. ::This will allow me to see through your eyes, instead of relying indirectly on what you notice and think about.::

She didn't know how to describe it. It was like the distance between their minds shortened, or something. Whatever was happening, she wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

_::Relax, human. You'll only hurt yourself.::_

His voice was so close! Frightened, she tried to sever the connection, but Starscream's grip on her mind turned firm.

_::I'll release you when I've found out what I need to know. The plans, and then the controls for the energy field.::  
_

Skyler glanced over. It was merely a dial, large enough for Lugnut to operate.

_::How inelegant.::_ Starscream sniffed._ ::But then it wouldn't need to be._ _Simple enough to open from the outside._:: With that, Starscream let go of her mind and backed off to the normal '_distance_'. ::That was quite a bit more...difficult than I had...originally thought.:: He paused to regain his focus. ::What is **that** human doing there? Isn't he the one who...:: Starscream trailed off in a growl.

She felt the need to stick up for the Professor. ::He didn't know! Don't you Decepticons pride yourselves on being skilled liars? And I know how manipulative **you** can be! Is it so hard to believe that Megatron tricked him?::

Starscream hissed. ::I should've pulled the plug on Megatron when I still had the chance! That yellow Autobot interrupted the speech I'd been waiting for **over 4 million stellar cycles** to make_. _While I dealt with the bug, I missed my opportunity. Still,:: he mused, ::I probably would not have encountered **you**, and I can always find another opportunity to satisfy my vengeance against that pretentious malfunction.::

::Pity you didn't kill him,:: Skyler grumbled. ::I wish you had.::

::Ah, but as I just said, you would never have met **me** and we would not be Bonded.::

::Pity,:: she repeated dryly, eliciting an amused chuckle from Starscream.

::Human, your current situation has **nothing** to do with me. If you **hadn't** met me, **hadn't** Bonded with me, you would be in quite a predicament right now. Luckily for you, I won't leave **my** property in the hands of that slagging malfunction::

::I don't **belong** to you!:: Skyler retorted.

Starscream sneered, ::Continue deluding yourself, fleshling.:: He paused. ::However, you are correct...in a fashion. Everything you know about the Bond so far works both ways. As my Spark Partner, Megatron would try to control me through you. And I will **not** be used by that fragging scrapheap!::

::Oh, but **you** using **me**, that's perfectly fine?::

::If you have a problem with that, human, I can always leave you where you are...::

A response was immediate and forceful. ::**NO!**::

Starscream smirked; it was so easy to provoke the fleshling.

::I just...I don't want to be **used**,:: Skyler said softly.

::Oh, but I'm afraid it is **far** too late for that, my little fleshling. You aided me, even **before** we Bonded. I still wonder why. Whatever your illogical organic reasoning may have been, those events greatly influenced you to Bond with me, which may not have happened otherwise. You proved to be **quite** valuable, **much** more so than I could have ever **dreamed**. **Best** of all, you belong to **me**; Bonding with me essentially marked you as my property. **No one**, Autobot **or** Decepticon, can deny the claim I have to you.:: As Starscream spoke, his tone shifted into a seductive, almost hypnotic, purr.

_Ugh._ Skyler hated that most of all. Nothing that came with their Bond - not the insults, the condescension, the threats, the taunting, the whole creepy factor of a scheming traitorous Decepticon being able to read her mind practically whenever he wished - **none** of that was as bad as his possessiveness. She would have thought Starscream only acted that way because he knew how much she hated it, but he actually believed Skyler belonged to him; Starscream was convinced that he owned her!

Skyler hated it, hated **him** for manipulating her, and hated herself for taking the only rational option - agreeing to Bond with him as well as cooperating right now.

Starscream continued in a raspy snarl, ::But you will **not** be used by Megatron, not while **I** have anything to say about it!::

::While you rant on the subject of my '_usefulness_', O Wise and Mighty One,:: Skyler growled snarkily**, ::you seem to have overlooked something - Professor Sumdac is '_useful_' to Megatron. I simply cannot **believe** you didn't realize that removing such a valuable '_resource_' might be to your advantage.::

She felt Starscream's shock and surprise. ::That...never occurred to me. I did not even consider it. **Clever** girl.:: He paused. ::Hmm, I will see what I can do. Contact me **immediately** if anything of note happens.::

* * *

Starscream paced angrily. If the girl was right, then Megatron was interfering in his plans **without even knowing it**!

Apparently she was some sort of expert with space bridges. _And **why** didn't she mention that fact **earlier**? _She hadn't even thought about it! The answer was simple: Skyler honestly didn't think it mattered. _When I get my servos on that irritating human, I'll make her reveal whatever she knows that may be important._ He even knew how to convince Skyler to tell him; anything that **he** would find useful, Megatron and the other Decepticons would as well. Of course, that would require she actually **be** in his servos. Yelling at her now would be pointless and counterproductive. He'd have to get her back before he could **properly** reprimand her.

This was intolerable; the human femme was **his**! He'd **Bonded** with the human, for frag's sake! If the rumors he'd heard about Spark Bonding were to be believed, then Skyler actually had a literal piece of his Spark!

Starscream had allowed the girl to retain a certain portion of her autonomy, enough so that she would fight without actually working against him. Her futile defiance was greatly entertaining and the fear and hatred she felt was delicious, the hatred doubly so because it came from her knowledge of how weak and completely insignificant she was compared to him. Simply put, Starscream **enjoyed** his connection to the little organic. As long as he didn't harm her physically, only manipulating the girl psychologically and emotionally (and even then only to a certain extent), Skyler wouldn't draw attention to herself. She had not thus far and hadn't shown any signs of wanting to do so.

That was actually quite fortunate. If not even the Autobots knew Skyler was Bonded to him, then the Decepticon Lord **certainly** would not know. If Megatron knew he had his treacherous Second's Spark Partner, then Skyler would be tortured and he would suffer right alongside her. And if he healed Skyler to stop the pain, Megatron would break her again and again until his Second's energy reserves were depleted. Simply by having Starscream's Spark (or enough of it to make a difference), the Lord could command his complete and total obedience. The Seekers were **the** most skilled bots when it came to flight, whether they were assigned as scouts or as aerial warriors. As Air Commander (and thus head of the Seeker force), Starscream was the most powerful flier, even by the high standards of the Seekers. Megatron couldn't afford to waste his skills needlessly; the mere threat of harming his Spark Partner would keep Starscream in line. Not to mention getting her away from Megatron would disrupt his Leader's plans...That was always a bonus.

Either way, it suited him to rescue her. He'd found out Skyler's special '_talent_' and useful possession readily enough...what else besides space-bridge expertise was the little femme concealing, intentionally or not?

Right. Back to the conundrum of the space-bridge. _What would Megatron **possibly** use a space-bridge for?_

You needed a specific code tailored to the two gates involved in order to use the space-bridge network. Otherwise, the origin gate would select a random destination. **Completely** unpredictable. **No** means of returning...which was why the Elite Guard had hidden the AllSpark by throwing it through a space-bridge; not even **they** had known where it wound up!

_And the Autobots who would even have access to those codes don't leave Cybertron, thus making the network impregnable. _Theoretically. The Autobots heavily patrolled numerous sectors near Cybertron. It would take a massive, concentrated strike to break through the blockade, more firepower than the Decepticons currently maintained. The only other means of reaching those experts was through the space-bridge network. And since you **needed** those bots **where they were** to even **use** the network_...  
_

During the millennia of plotting against Megatron, Starscream had paid close attention to any orders and plans of the Decepticon Lord, watching for any signs that his Leader knew of his treachery. So when Megatron's most loyal Decepticon (which wasn't Lugnut, no matter what that slavishly devoted thick-bolted moron thought) departed abruptly, it caught his interest.

Some investigation into Shockwave's disappearance so many stellar cycles ago had resulted in him discovering that the shape-shifting Tactical Officer was posing as an Autobot. Said Autobot had since been given the Elite Guard title and rank of "Prime." _Oh, the sweet irony._ Even now, this **Decepticon** Prime was in charge of the space-bridge network. If Megatron succeeded in building a working space-bridge...the Autobot Elite Guard wouldn't know what hit them.

Starscream paused. _The Autobots..._

* * *

When they got back from patrol, Prowl discovered a message waiting on the Autobot system. He called the others over and Optimus played the message.

"I have come across some information which may be of interest to you Autobots. For example: I'm sure by now you have noticed the disappearance of the human inventor; wouldn't your little pet like to know where her paternal creator is right now, hmmm? I will share this information with you...for a price." The message went on to name a time and place to meet. He didn't bother naming himself. He didn't have to. All present (including Sari) recognized that grating voice.

"He knows something about my dad?" Sari gasped. "Wait," she realized, "he called me a **pet**!"

"Come on, Prime, it's obviously a trap!" Bumblebee yelped when he saw that Optimus appeared to be giving it significant thought.

"Yeah," Bulkhead added, "I mean, this is **Starscream** we're talking about here!"

There was a long pause.

"But what if it isn't a trap?" Prowl asked. "What if Starscream **does** know where the Professor is? We may not know what he wants in return, or what else he hinted that he knows, but the **meeting** at least might not be a trap."

All turned to look at Prowl, wondering what glitch could cause his logic processor to malfunction so severely. But it was Ratchet who spoke next. "Prime...there's something we need to tell you."

* * *

**A/N -** Okay, I suck at writing fight scenes. That's what was delaying this chapter until I split it into two parts.

** Despite what my spell-checker says, this **IS** a word. "Snarkily" is the adverb form of "snarky", which means sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner **or** rudely sarcastic or disrespectful; snide** or** irritable or short-tempered. My computer thinks it knows more about the English language than I do. Ha-**ha!** Foiled by Merriam-Webster dictionary!

And sorry (or you're welcome, depending on what you like about canon-botsXhuman-OC pairings), but I'm not going to touch on the "Spark Mate" topic. I think my inner fangirl just died, but I don't trust her with a pen...like I don't trust myself with sharp objects. Or even rather dull objects, like fingernail scissors (skizzorz...such fun to say!). Any other human OC's? I **could** be talked into using someone's (or multiple someones') if that someone makes a convincing argument. It might be fun! Drop me a line, whether private message or review.

And more importantly, are there any specific bots you want to see that didn't necessarily appear in Animated (I count the other Seekers in there, since they were just portrayed as clones and not individual personalities)? Autobot, Decepticon, other/Neutral, doesn't matter.

And while I'm making minor changes, I thought of something during class today: Instead of "male" and "female", they have "mech" and "femme", right? Well, if you go from "mech" to "mechanism"...you can do the same with "femme"...which gives "feminism". Funny, no?


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - **No reviews? Really? None for the 6th chapter of this story or the 3rd chapter of "Double Trouble." Please take a few moments of your time to leave a review (even anonymous would be great!). Let me know what you like, what you don't like, don't understand, or want to see. I **love** the Favorite Story and Story Alert alerts I get from you readers, too! Reviews get me motivated and let me know what I'm doing right and how to improve as a writer.

The gap in uploads? Um...Even though I know where I'm taking this story, it's hard to go from the pictures in my head to actual words on the screen that make sense and convey the meaning of what **I** see. I blame my own language malfunction for this; English may be my first and only **real** language (I understand a good deal of Spanish, but I can't speak it worth a darn) but I use it in ways people often don't understand. Let me know if any part in my story isn't clear (it might be deliberate...and then it might not be).

* * *

_I wanted to create things to __**help**__ people, not instruments of destruction!_ That was why he'd stayed far away from military contracts of any sort. In the meantime, Professor Sumdac could only hope the Autobots stopped Megatron before any of his devices caused too much damage. He wondered what ghost of his past would be slapped in his face next.

Little Skyler had been even younger than Sari when...It had been a long time, but he wouldn't forget the name 'Farrier' easily. What was it she had said? 'Small world, sir.'

"You seem very calm, considering our present situation," he told her.

Skyler gazed at him steadily. "Trust me," she muttered dryly, "I'm panicking on the inside."

The Professor watched as she turned back to her work. Abruptly she stiffened and knocked a small piece of equipment to the floor. Skyler just stood there frozen for a moment before turning to look at the device as if she had just noticed it. "Shit," she whispered and jerkily bent to retrieve it.

_She's afraid, too. She just doesn't show it the same way_. He was tired of everything going wrong. _My little Sari, I hope you are safe and doing well, wherever you are, and that you don't worry about me too much._ Sumdac could only hope his daughter would be safe with the Autobots without him to keep the company's greedy higher-ups at bay. And if she was actually injured somehow...he shook his head sadly. _I need to be there for her if that happens. As her...father._

* * *

::What?:: Skyler all but shrieked; the stress and the fear setting her on edge.

::Do you have any idea of your location?::

Skyler glanced around the area as she replaced the object she'd knocked over. ::Underground somewhere. Other than that, I can't tell.::

::**I** will be the judge of that, human.::

Her forehead creased. ::What do you - ?::

::There is another quality of the Bond, one I have not yet pursued.::

::What **else** haven't you told me?:: Skyler said exasperatedly.

Starscream paused before answering; he needed to choose his next words very carefully. ::I tire of speaking to you like this. Once I have retrieved you from Megatron's servos, then I will tell you the rest of what I know about our Bond, personally.:: Then he waited for Skyler's response. How she reacted would determine the way he proceeded.

At first, she was skeptical, then felt relief, which finally changed to a fearful unease. Skyler didn't like giving in or the thought of being back in Starscream's possession, but the prospect of being Megatron's captive was much worse. ::What do you need to know...that would...help?:: Skyler said slowly.

::Start with the plans for the space-bridge,:: he suggested.

::I don't really understand a lot of it - ::

::You don't need to,:: Starscream interrupted curtly.

Ow. ::Hey!:: He was prodding at her mind again. She threw up a shield, but the probes felt rather different this time..

::Don't fight me, this is hard enough as is,:: Starscream admonished. ::This will allow me to see through your eyes, instead of relying indirectly on what you notice and think about.::

Ever since the woman had first noticed Starscream 'eavesdropping' on her thoughts, she'd tried to come up with a metaphor for her perception of the Bond. If a 'normal' person's mind was contained within a sort of box, cut off from everyone else's, their two minds had been dumped into the same box, a larger one. The space limit would explain why she couldn't get away from him entirely and trying to do so was quite painful. The representation of their actual minds was simple, just a uniform sphere, a malleable one. Probes were extending a pseudopod and poking at the other being's mind, while shielding was reinforcing the outside of the ball. Of course, Starscream's mind was several times larger than hers, and the acrid liquid coating made any form of contact unpleasant. What he was doing now, she had no ready explanation for. It was as if his mind had rolled over towards hers, and either partially enveloped hers, or else the pseudopod had actually penetrated her mind.

_::Relax, human. You'll only hurt yourself.::_

Frightened, she tried to sever the connection, but Starscream's grip on her mind turned firm.

_::I'll release you when I've found out what I need to know. The plans, and then the controls for the energy field.::_

Skyler clicked through the schematics she had been provided, scanning each one. She wasn't sure where the controls where, but a simple dial was placed on the panel next to their prison, large enough for Lugnut to operate.

_::How inelegant.::_ Starscream sniffed._ ::But then it wouldn't need to be._ _Simple enough to open from the outside._:: With that, Starscream let go of her mind and backed off to the normal 'distance'. ::That was quite a bit more...difficult than I had...originally thought.:: He paused to regain his focus. ::What is **that** human doing there? Isn't he the one who...:: Starscream trailed off in a growl.

She felt the need to stick up for the Professor. ::He didn't know! Don't you Decepticons pride yourselves on being skilled liars? And I know how manipulative you can be! Is it so hard to believe that Megatron tricked him?::

Starscream hissed. ::I should've pulled the plug on Megatron when I still had the chance! That yellow Autobot interrupted the speech I'd been waiting for over 4 million stellar cycles to make_. _While I dealt with the bug, I missed my opportunity. Still,:: he mused, ::I probably would not have encountered **you**, and I can always find another opportunity to satisfy my vengeance against that pretentious malfunction.::

::Pity you didn't kill him,:: Skyler grumbled. ::I wish you had.::

::Ah, but as I just said, you would never have met **me** and we would not be Bonded.::

::Pity,:: she repeated dryly, eliciting an amused chuckle from Starscream.

::Human, your current situation has nothing to do with me. If you hadn't met me, hadn't Bonded with me, you would be in quite a predicament right now. Luckily for you, I won't leave **my** property in the hands of that slagging malfunction::

::I don't belong to you,:: Skyler retorted.

Starscream sneered, ::Continue deluding yourself, fleshling.:: He paused. ::However, you are correct...in a fashion. Everything you know about the Bond so far works both ways. As my Spark Partner, Megatron would try to control me through you. And I will not be used by that fragging scrapheap!::

::Oh, but you using me, that's perfectly fine?::

::If you have a problem with that, human, I can always leave you where you are...::

A response was immediate and forceful. ::No!::

Starscream smirked; it was so easy to provoke the fleshling.

::I just...I don't want to be used,:: Skyler said softly.

::Oh, but I'm afraid it is far too late for that, my little fleshling. You aided me, even before we Bonded. I still wonder why. Whatever your illogical organic reasoning may have been, those events greatly influenced you to Bond with me, which may not have happened otherwise. You proved to be quite valuable, much more so than I could have ever dreamed. Best of all, you belong to **me**; Bonding with me essentially marked you as my property. No one, Autobot or Decepticon, can deny the claim I have to you.:: As Starscream spoke, his tone shifted into a seductive, almost hypnotic, purr.

_Ugh._ Skyler hated that most of all. Nothing that came with their Bond - not the insults, the condescension, the threats, the taunting, the whole creepy factor of a scheming traitorous Decepticon being able to read her mind practically whenever he wished - none of that was as bad as his possessiveness. She would have thought Starscream only acted that way because he knew how much she hated it, but he actually believed Skyler belonged to him; Starscream was convinced that he owned her!

Skyler hated it, hated him for manipulating her, and hated herself for taking the only rational option - agreeing to Bond with him as well as cooperating right now.

Starscream continued in a raspy snarl, ::But you will not be used by Megatron, not while **I** have anything to say about it!::

::While you rant on the subject of my 'usefulness', O Wise and Mighty One,:: Skyler growled snarkily, ::you seem to have overlooked something - Professor Sumdac is 'useful' to Megatron. I simply cannot believe you didn't realize that removing such a valuable 'resource' might be to your advantage.::

She felt Starscream's shock and surprise. ::That...never occurred to me. I did not even consider it. Clever girl.:: He paused. ::Hmm, I will see what I can do. Contact me immediately if anything of note happens.::

* * *

Starscream paced angrily. If the girl was right, then Megatron was interfering in his plans without even knowing it!

Apparently she was some sort of expert with space bridges. _And __why__ didn't she mention that fact __earlier__? _She hadn't even thought about it! The answer was simple: Skyler honestly didn't think it mattered. _When I get my servos on that irritating human, I'll make her reveal whatever she knows that may be important._ He even knew how to convince Skyler to tell him; anything that he would find useful, Megatron and the other Decepticons would as well. Of course, that would require she actually be in his servos. Yelling at her now would be pointless and counterproductive. He'd have to get her back before he could properly reprimand her.

This was intolerable; the human femme was his! He'd **Bonded** with the human, for frag's sake! If the rumors he'd heard about Spark Bonding were to be believed, then Skyler actually had a literal piece of his Spark!

Starscream had allowed the girl to retain a certain portion of her autonomy, enough so that she would fight without actually working against him. Her futile defiance was greatly entertaining and the fear and hatred she felt was delicious, the hatred doubly so because it came from her knowledge of how weak and completely insignificant she was compared to him. Simply put, Starscream enjoyed his connection to the little organic. As long as he didn't harm her physically, only manipulating the girl psychologically and emotionally (and even then only to a certain extent), Skyler wouldn't draw attention to herself. She had not thus far and hadn't shown any signs of wanting to do so.

That was actually quite fortunate. If not even the Autobots knew Skyler was Bonded to him, then the Decepticon Lord certainly would not know. If Megatron knew he had his treacherous Second's Spark Partner, then Skyler would be tortured and he would suffer right alongside her. And if he healed Skyler to stop the pain, Megatron would break her again and again until his Second's energy reserves were depleted. Simply by having Starscream's Spark (or enough of it to make a difference), the Lord could command his complete and total obedience. The Seekers were the most skilled bots when it came to flight, whether they were assigned as scouts or as aerial warriors. As Air Commander (and thus head of the Seeker force), Starscream was the most powerful flier, even by the high standards of the Seekers. Megatron couldn't afford to waste his skills needlessly; the mere threat of harming his Spark Partner would keep Starscream in line. Not to mention getting her away from Megatron would disrupt his Leader's plans...That was always a bonus.

Either way, it suited him to rescue her. He'd found out Skyler's special 'talent' and useful possession readily enough...what else besides space-bridge expertise was the little femme concealing, intentionally or not?

Right. Back to the conundrum of the space-bridge. _What would Megatron __possibly__ use a space-bridge for?_

You needed a specific code tailored to the two gates involved in order to use the space-bridge network. Otherwise, the origin gate would select a random destination. Completely unpredictable. No means of returning...which was why the Elite Guard had hidden the AllSpark by throwing it through a space-bridge; not even they had known where it wound up!

_And the Autobots who would even have access to those codes don't leave Cybertron, thus making the network impregnable. _Theoretically. The Autobots heavily patrolled numerous sectors near Cybertron. It would take a massive, concentrated strike to break through the blockade, more firepower than the Decepticons currently maintained. The only other means of reaching those experts was through the space-bridge network. And since you needed those bots where they were to even use the network_..._

During the millennia of plotting against Megatron, Starscream had paid close attention to any orders and plans of the Decepticon Lord, watching for any signs that his Leader knew of his treachery. So when Megatron's most loyal Decepticon (which wasn't Lugnut, no matter what that slavishly devoted thick-bolted moron thought) departed abruptly, it caught his interest.

Some investigation into Shockwave's disappearance so many stellar cycles ago had resulted in him discovering that the shape-shifting Tactical Officer was posing as an Autobot. Said Autobot had since been given the Elite Guard title and rank of "Prime." _Oh, the sweet irony._ Even now, this **Decepticon** Prime was in charge of the space-bridge network. If Megatron succeeded in building a working space-bridge...the Autobot Elite Guard wouldn't know what hit them.

Starscream paused. _The Autobots..._

* * *

When they got back from patrol, Prowl discovered a message waiting on the Autobot system. He called the others over and Optimus played the message.

"I have come across some information which may be of interest to you Autobots. For example: I'm sure by now you have noticed the disappearance of the human inventor; wouldn't your little pet like to know where her paternal creator is right now, hmmm? I will share this information with you...for a price." The message went on to name a time and place to meet. He didn't bother naming himself. He didn't have to. All present (including Sari) recognized that grating voice.

"He knows something about my dad?" Sari gasped. "Wait," she realized, "he called me a pet!"

"Come on, Prime, it's obviously a trap!" Bumblebee yelped when he saw that Optimus appeared to be giving it significant thought.

"Yeah," Bulkhead added, "I mean, this is Starscream we're talking about here!"

There was a long pause.

"But what if it isn't a trap?" Prowl asked. "What if Starscream does know where the Professor is? We may not know what he wants in return, or what else he hinted that he knows, but the meeting at least might not be a trap."

All turned to look at Prowl, wondering what glitch could cause his logic processor to malfunction so severely. But it was Ratchet who spoke next. "Prime...there's something we need to tell you."

* * *

**A/N -** Okay, I suck at writing fight scenes. That's what was delaying this chapter until I split it into two parts.

And sorry (or you're welcome, depending on what you like about canon-bots&human-OC pairings), but I'm not going to touch on the "Spark Mate" topic. I think my inner fangirl just died, but I don't trust her with a pen.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N** - Reviewer response time!

**Anonybot** - the first line of your review made me laugh so hard I think I broke something (at the very least, it prompted my *twin* brother to start screeching at me). I could _totally_ see that happening...in chibi. Someone needs to draw that!  
Yeah, but making Skyler suffer is **fun**! Does harming your own OC make you masochistic?  
A good question. Humans are so much smaller and have less energy, but that doesn't really seem to be a factor with Bonding; each Partner seems to have a similar energy reserve to share (not **exactly** the same, but pretty close). Death of one doesn't **mean** the other will automatically die, but I keep thinking of Eragon - the shock and loss can sometimes kill the survivor, or drive him/her mad (Brom, Galbatorix, and Glaedr).

**Digimonfan **& **RomonaFlowersTwinSister** - sorry it's taken so long. I've been grinding away at this all afternoon but kept getting interrupted. *sigh*

Please review! It really helps me out! I saw on thegrimbee's profile something that summed up my feelings about reviews quite nicely: "I also hate it when People put my stories on Story Alert or their Favorites and never leave comments. :( I feel like they hate my story and put it on alert to see if I got any better...I like reviews a lot especially nice ones."

* * *

"Miss me?" he hissed.

"Traitor!" Lugnut boomed.

"Megatron's reign is ending. Fifty stellar cycles of absence and the AllSpark is lost **again** mere cycles after his return! You pathetic fraggers fail to see the inevitable; he will fail. It is past time for new leadership."

_He iz trying to distract usz_, Icy advised. _He'z hoping ze Autobotz vill attack __us__**z**__ rather zan __him_.

Blizwing's face spun, pausing briefly on Random before settling on Hot. "Don't move, Aaoutobot!" he shouted, seeing Ratchet and Bumblebee approaching.

_A coincidence zat Starscream zhowed up ven he did?_

_Oooh hoo hoo! Ve could have a tea party!_

Starscream's optics narrowed. Blitzwing and Lugnut were between him and the containment field. He couldn't close with Lugnut in these small confines, but neither could he take on Blitzwing without risking a shot of Lugnut's (aptly named) P.O.K.E. to his back.

And he still didn't want to turn his back on the Autobots. With so much stray ammunition rocketing around, who could tell whether a miss was intentional or not? That gave him an idea.

"Where is your fearless leader?" he hissed, edging closer to Blitzwing. Timing would be everything. Hopefully the Autobots would catch on. "Did he not want to be bothered by such a volatile and unpredictable minion on his important errand? How strange, then, that he should trust his witless cyber-fox to mind you." _Ah, perfect._ Blitzwing realized **he** was the one being insulted just as Lugnut's slower processor reached the same conclusion. They roared their fury simultaneously and charged.

Starscream leaped over them, not bothering to activate his thrusters for a neat flip as the Autobots' attack struck precisely on cue. It looked as though he had happened to jump at the right moment.

* * *

What was going on out there? The green glow was just transparent enough that they could make out shadowy figures in the distance, but little more.

Then one of Blitzwing's ice rockets hit the force field. Skyler and Professor Sumdac dropped to the floor, but only Skyler knew why that had happened...or what was next. She braced herself as a '_stray_' null ray shattered the ice, shorting out the force field as well.

Skyler saw Starscream dodging Blitzwing's combined attacks in the air. At one point he even cut the power to his thrusters, dropping sharply as a cluster of missiles passed through where he had just been.

::Starscream?:: she said, confused.

::Change in plans, fleshling,:: he said without looking at her. ::Go with the Autobots for now.::

But even that was enough to throw off his concentration and the triple-changer scored a lucky hit. Blitzwing's personalities couldn't agree on which weapon to use, so Starscream's wing was coated in ice, rather than being blown completely off.

It still hurt like the Pit.

Skyler gasped. There was a sharp pain and a phantom cold ache shooting down her left arm. She stumbled and Professor Sumdac pulled her along by her other arm.

Dazedly, she heard explosions and two sets of tires squealing.

"I'll get you for that, slagger!" Starscream snarled, drowning out Hot-Blitzwing's yelling.

One set stopped in front of her and the Professor pushed her towards it before climbing in the other vehicle.

Between the pain and the noise she was developing a headache that made it hard to think. Skyler wasn't sure who her rescuer was, but she didn't feel like caring right away. She leaned back as the Autobots drove off.

* * *

/Lugnut, Blitzwing. Status update./

/Ve are under attack by ze Autobotz. Ve had it under control...zen Starscream joined ze fray./

/Our prisoners?/

/Ze little birdies flew ze coop!/ Random answered. /Ahahahaha!/

Megatron growled. /The base has been compromised. Disengage and fall back./

/But, Master!/

/I don't want to hear it, Lugnut. Fall back!/

* * *

She came to her senses when the Autobots left the tunnel to the mountain base. Two of the five split off and headed in a different direction. _Bulkhead and Bumblebee._ There was one figure in each of the vehicles. _Sari came, too?_

Ratchet and Prowl flanked the one she was with, which meant Optimus.

She could only assume that the Sumdacs were heading back to their tower. Back **home**. _Because their involvement is over for now. I don't blame them; the Professor's been their prisoner for __months__._

Skyler peered through the window of Optimus Prime's vehicle mode, trying to see up into the sky.

"Looking for Starscream?" he asked dryly.

"Ah, what?" Skyler stammered guiltily. "No, I wasn't," but her face flushed with embarrassment at the obvious lie. _What did he mean by telling me to go with the Autobots? Is it a '_lesser of two evils_' thing? Or are they just less of a threat to your plans?_

Optimus didn't respond, applying his brakes. When he was stopped, Skyler reached for the door handle. It was locked. She closed her eyes -_So. __**That's**__ how it's going to be_.- then opened them again and looked exasperatedly at the truck's dashboard. Prowl opened the door and helped her out.

* * *

Starscream landed in the clearing, the same one where the negotiations had taken place earlier that solar cycle.

His optics flickered briefly around those assembled. The medic was standing just behind the Prime's right shoulder. The ninja, vehicle mode a small motorcycle, was further back and to the left. Cupped in his servos was Skyler.

::You. Come **here**.::

::What? No!:: she yelped. Skyler was just fine where she was and did not feel like going any closer to the treacherous 'Con, not when he was this angry.

Not amused by her defiance, Starscream forced his will on her. ::Now!:: he snapped.

Skyler begged, ::Stop! Please!:: She felt a demanding tug yanking her in his direction. _No._ It was a mental compulsion, one that Skyler refused to obey.

"So...you found her," the crimson jet said dryly.

"Humans are not property to be claimed, Starscream," Ratchet said.

"We had a deal!" he hissed.

"Yes, but that was before we learned you Spark Bonded with this human."

A harsh sneer crossed Starscream's facial components, then his fiery gaze switched to Skyler.

::I didn't say anything!::

::Then how did they find out?:: he snapped.

::You expect me to know, when you've only been telling me about the Bond as you felt like it?:: Skyler shrieked.

"And just what will you do about that?" Starscream demanded of them. "It is against everything you Autobots stand for to harm humans! As you so wisely noticed," he continued mockingly, "she Bonded with me. You Autobots," he said the word scornfully, "can't debate that. That girl. Is **mine**. You agreed to return what Megatron had taken from me. Now...**hand her over**."

Skyler cowered. There were several things Prowl wanted to say, but all of them would have only made the situation worse. He settled for lifting his other hand in front of the young organic as a sort of shield.

Prowl worried about the state of the young woman's mind. Scarcely more than a child herself, it couldn't be easy on the girl to be Bonded to a Decepticon, especially one with a powerful, cruel, and compelling personality as Starscream. Still, as the Seeker tended to be calculating rather than casually vindictive...

Skyler was shuddering, eyes tightly closed in obvious distress. He felt sorry for her. First she was kidnapped by Megatron and then, after being rescued, made to face her Spark Partner when, in all likelihood, she hadn't been anywhere near him since their Bonding.

Prowl wondered briefly how Starscream got her to Bond with him in the first place. The citizens of Detroit, while some of them didn't trust the Autobots, all knew the Decepticons were trouble. That much was obvious, even if they paid no attention to the warnings.

It was surprising she had been even remotely sane so soon after the Bond formed. But then, that could also be attributed to Starscream's cunning. The Decepticon wouldn't risk impairing her usefulness to him.

The ninja was astounded that anybot, even a war-hardened Decepticon, could see something as pure as the Spark Bond as nothing more than a **tool**. Small wonder she hadn't wanted to talk about the experience.

She could feel his frustration growing. Skyler was stunned; it seemed ridiculous to even **consider** that Starscream and the Autobots would fight over her. Starscream was so angry that he wasn't shielding his thoughts and Skyler was picking up some of them. He was seriously thinking about attacking.

::Don't!:: she cried.

Starscream studied his Bonded. Now she had the decency to be afraid.

"You promised to return her in exchange for my assistance," he hissed, servos curling into fists. "What do you plan to do with her instead?"

Optimus held up a hand in a '_take it easy_' pose. "We only wish to make certain she is unharmed."

"You'll let her go then," Starscream growled. It wasn't a question.

"We don't harm humans; that's a Decepticon action."

Starscream had nearly blown a circuit at seeing his human held prisoner in Autobot servos. Prisoner, because Skyler had tried to go to him, even before he'd landed, and they had stopped her. Later, she'd been more reluctant, but _**Fraggit!**_, she'd tried.

If he stood there any longer, he wouldn't be able to resist slagging the lot of them, which would almost certainly damage the girl. Defeated, he was forced to cut and run, momentarily foiled.

Not defeated, even, because that would mean he had attacked. No, he, Starscream, had backed down from **three MAINTENANCE Autobots** - a failed Prime, an ancient medic, and a young ninja.

He **should** have seen this coming; the Autobots agreed far too readily, and with no argument. But no, he had been too pleased with his idea of playing both his enemies off each other, for his benefit. Two younglings, two inexperienced mechs, and one halfway to the scrapheap. Not a problem, or so he'd assumed.

_The medic_, he thought. The old 'bot was the only one of the team who had been around before the war and was thus the only one who would have known what to look for. So, of course, those sentimental glitches had to swoop in and save the poor organic from the evil Decepticons.

He sneered. As renowned as they were for their treachery, the Decepticons had never pretended to be anything other than they were - treacherous cold-Energoned killers. The Elite Guard had seized upon this and began spreading the propaganda. Noble, upstanding, loyal bots who would sacrifice their Sparks to protect the innocents. _What a load of scrapmetal_. To emphasize their difference, Autobots were forbidden to have flying vehicle modes, or even flight capacities in their root modes. Then the 'Cons were driven from their homeworld and thought to be destroyed, so the Guard's lies went unchallenged.

It was the insult, more than anything else, that **Autobots** had their servos on **his SPARK Partner**. And yet, it was better than Megatron having the girl; as the 'Bot had said, Autobots don't harm humans. So he didn't have to worry about any phantom pains (worse than actual damages, since his self-repair systems would insist that there **was** no damage), but what if they turned Skyler against him? After all, the Autobots had already proven themselves skilled in the art of deception, something those noble fools of the Elite Guard had always insisted were beneath the dignified faction members.

Starscream could **not** take that chance.

Anger. Suspicion. Irritation.

Frankly, she was surprised he'd waited **this** long. Skyler flinched slightly. ::What is it?::

Starscream hissed, ::The Autobots have **MY property**. What do you **think** I want, fleshling?::

::Stop,:: Skyler said firmly, surprising both of them. ::Lay off, you've made yourself quite clear.::

It was so horribly **invasive** - a stark reminder of her weakness, one she could neither ignore nor be rid of. No, Skyler had to tolerate a close relationship with a cruel, selfish giant alien robot (a self-admitted sadistic killer) whose current entertainment preference was causing her pain. And even if by some miracle she got rid of him, she'd still have the memories.

Skyler had grown more proficient since she'd found out about their Bond, but she still couldn't manage speaking and blocking her other thoughts at the same time.

::Not thinking of betraying me...**are** you, little fleshling?:: Starscream purred.

::What? Of course not! It's just so distracting with you making rude comments.::

::So the problem is that you lack the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time,:: he concluded.

::Yes. **No!**:: Skyler growled. ::Look, if I show you the memories - **after** - will you **stay out of my head**? I'm not trying to hide anything, but I'd like to be able to have a conversation while you mind your own damn business!::

He considered it. ::Provided that you **do** allow me to view those memories, child, then yes.:: Her awareness of Starscream faded.

Skyler sighed in relief. She hadn't really thought he'd agree.

"Tough day?" Optimus asked.

She chuckled. "That's a serious exaggeration." Then Skyler's face fell. "I guess you now know I lied. I'm sorry, it's just...I didn't **know**, the first time Prowl asked. Starscream didn't start talking to me until a day **after** that. And then, I didn't really know what to say. Or even **how** to say it."

It was Optimus' turn to chuckle slightly. "I can imagine. But explanations can wait until we get back to our base. Our energy signatures will be dampened there, so you won't have to worry about vengeful Decepticons."

_Do you mean '_a vengeful Starscream_'? Or just Megatron and the others?_ Skyler was torn, and felt strangely...guilty. The Autobots were showing a Decepticon's Spark Partner (who they had just **rescued**) where their base was, their secret refuge. They **trusted** her, when she didn't even trust herself. She did **not** want to be the one that exposed the Autobots to Megatron, not after all they had done for the humans in Detroit...after all they had done for **her**. _At least Starscream wants Megatron offline just as much as, if not more than, the Autobots. Else this would be impossible._

* * *

**A/N** - I'm trying to make a point that Starscream = creeper. He's a sexy, **sexy** devil...and a total creeper. And yet I love him anyways. Just so's you know, he does **NOT** think of her that way. I said earlier I wasn't doing Spark Mates. I'm not doing slash, I'm not doing romance, I'm keeping this clean (of smut at least). I'm trying to play up his Thundercracker/Sunstorm side here: egotistical and suave, praising (himself) a lot. Starscream's an egotistical jerk (duh) and he just thinks pissing Skyler off is hilarious. She's got a temper and a smart mouth; a **bad** combination. Luckily Screamer's more amused than offended.

I kept wanting to get this uploaded, but it's **begging** for a fight scene (since this story didn't yet have one) and that's what keeps delaying it. Meh. I've been piecing it together during work (physical labor has one thing in its favor - you can pretty much let your mind wander). I kept slimming it down (unintentionally) and so it's a minor skirmish and not a fight. **Any** tips on writing fight scenes, any at all would be **greatly** appreciated!

**Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N - **Yesterday was iffy. First I had to sleep on the floor (instead of my nice bed), then I got b*tch-slapped by a tree (my maintenance crew decided to play the Princess and the Pea while clearing out a dorm room...don't ask), but then I had some fun throwing scrap metal around and was told that my transformers books arrived! Well...that was 2 days ago, but I didn't go pick them up until yesterday...

**Reviewer Response!**

Megatronswifey - Yep. Screamer would be **pissed**.  
I'm glad; the Animated 'Cons are **hard**. Bltzwing's fun to work with, though. Megatron's harder, and Lugnut's **impossible**. You'd think a brainless devoted minion would be simple. Ah, Starscream. I know what I **want** to happen, but he'd be **so** OOC for that to happen. I think that may be why I like the Decepticons so much; their faction is so complex. It isn't Autobots=good and Decepticons=evil. The Autobots here are either rookies (everybody except Ratchet. And maybe Prowl), pompous blowhards (Sentinel and Ultra Magnus), or idiotic civilians (Tracks&co). The Decepticons aren't straightforward. Starscream wants to rule, sure, but his **motives**, his **reasons** are interesting (and they change depending on continuity). And the other Decepticons always have strange loyalties. Even BlackArachnia (who didn't get much development) is very elaborate; she wants revenge, she wants a cure, she wants to be with the ones she blames, she wants power...

Kitty1994 - Thanks! I was trying for a laugh. Except for Armada (which I admired) and Energon (which I pitied), every. Single. Starscream. Gave me the jibblies! I see him and I go "Yay!" and then he starts talking and just...brr. Brrbrrbrr! I'm gonna go hide in the corner with my blanket now, kthxbai.

Exess - That sucks. Glad you reviewed, though! Yeah, to get the stories out of my head. All my stories (including the ones not yet published) were stuck in my head. They can also be classified: ASD was me bored in the library/homeroom, WTAS was me bored at home, DT happened in Calculus while I was on drugs (Vicodin, to be precise), and two unpublished (one will be, hopefully soon) are both based on a dream I had. Ooh, Prime Starscream. He's even more of a creeper than TFA Starscream. I get this chill up my spine whenever I see him being a sycophantic flunky. Brr.

RomonaFlowersTwinSister - I'm working on it. I fear I've taken on too many projects. And then my lazy brothers dump all their chores on me. Bleh. So I write my stories while I'm at work and type them when I get the chance.

/This represent a commlink discussion. It doesn't **have** to be audible to others, as per something I read in the Bayformer books./

She really should be used to it by now, but the sight of a vehicle driving itself, as seen from the inside, was still freaky. Skyler refrained from commenting on the fact that Optimus stayed in his vehicle mode until the base's door was shut.

She trotted after the old ambulance into the med-bay. The scan was quick; it wasn't five minutes before they were back in the entry-way, rejoining Optimus Prime and Prowl.

When he saw Skyler glance around the room curiously, Ratchet said, "Bumblebee and Bulkhead are making sure Sari and Professor Sumdac make it back safely."

Skyler tried to keep her face neutral. She was immediately assuming the worst: safe from Starscream, or even Megatron. She wondered where this hostile feeling towards them was coming from. _Well, I wasn't too fond of __any__ of them before this and now that I kinda feel like I owe Starscream...Yeah, still not too fond of the Cybertronians._ She shifted in place nervously. "You said you wanted to make sure I was unharmed. I'm fine, so there's no need to - "

"Starscream tried to control you, didn't he?" Prowl interrupted.

She studied her shoes intently. Admit she was weak, that she couldn't stop him from using her? When they waited for her answer, Skyler sighed. "Yeah, he did."

"He shouldn't have done that. It goes against all the rules - "

"Starscream doesn't seem the type to follow orders." Skyler smiled wryly.

"Cold-Sparked sonofaglitch always did think he was above authority," Ratchet grumbled, "even back when the Great War was new."

"Cold...Spark?" Skyler asked. _Stop using terms I don't understand!_ All the new terminology was making her brain hurt. "What does that mean?"

"It's a saying," Prime explained. "For example, you humans would use the term '_black-hearted_' or '_cold-blooded_'. Just another way of saying that he's cruel and doesn't really care who knows it." He was trying to warn her, but there was no need. "What was Starscream trying to make you do?"

Still looking down, Skyler replied, "Go to him." Wasn't it obvious? Hadn't the Seeker made it clear he didn't trust her at all? That he wanted her full obedience?

"Why would he do that?" Prowl wanted to know what Starscream was planning. Did she even know? If the girl didn't tell them, then either she was more loyal to Starscream than they thought, or else he was preventing her from sharing, neither of which were promising.

/Yeah, why, ninja-bot?/

/Bumblebee, stop listening through our commlinks or, so help me, I will weld your aft to your berth!/ Ratchet snapped back.

Skyler shrugged. "Not a clue. He hasn't been telling me much of anything." Why the continual obvious questions?

Bulkhead laughed. /You wouldn't./ The image of 'Bee stuck to a berth was quite amusing.

/Off. Now./

"Did he tell you that he was the one who enabled us to rescue you and the Professor?" At her nod, Prowl continued, "And has Starscream ordered you around in the past?"

"Not like that. He pretty much left me alone after he let me go...aside from the odd snide comment."

Prowl looked at Ratchet, who shrugged. Optimus said, "Professor Sumdac went home to his family," he paused to transform into his truck mode, "I think it's time we took you back to yours.

Skyler stood by the front door. She turned and waved, saying "Thank you!" to Optimus, who blinked his headlights in acknowledgement before driving off. Skyler turned back to the door. _There's __one__ explanation out of the way. And I can't help but think that was the __easy__ one..._

::Oh, this promises to be **interesting**,:: Starscream chuckled.

::Just be quiet.::

::I'm not saying anything,:: he reminded her smugly.

::You know what I meant!:: Skyler snapped, drawing in a calming breath, stepping forward and knocking.

"Well?" demanded Bumblebee.

"Well, what?" Optimus asked.

"You mean we're just going to let her go, knowing what the Decepticons did to her? What if Starscream tries to control her again? And she knows where our base is!"

"I considered that," Prime explained, "and I tinted the windows of my vehicle mode so she couldn't see out."

Prowl spoke up. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that."

"'_We don't have to worry!_'? Skyler admitted he tried to control her!"

"But it didn't work even though she was obviously affected by it."

"You have a point, Prowl," Optimus mused, "and Starscream didn't get to be second-in-command by having a weak will."

"...and that's it for the weather. In unrelated news, Detroit welcomes the safe return of Professor Sumdac. His first action upon retaking control of Sumdac Systems was to fire - " Sparkplug switched the television off.

Spike groaned. "Better not be another damn reporter. The last one left not quite this time yesterday and..." his voice trailed off as Sparkplug opened the door. "Skyler!"

She trudged in wearily and sat down, leaning back in the chair wearily. "Hey Spike," she said, adding unnecessarily, "I'm back." Skyler motioned Spike to stay away. "Kinda sore right now, but I'm hugging you." Her arms encircled the air in front of her.

"You're...okay, right? Unhurt?"

Skyler smiled tiredly. "According to Ratchet, yes."

"What'd they want? We've been harassed by news reporters for days since you...left." She'd only been gone for a single day, but between the worry and unwelcome attention, it felt like far longer. Sparkplug hesitated. "They kept asking what the Decepticons wanted with you. Was it because you were kidnapped earlier?"

"No." Skyler shuddered. "If they'd known about that, I'd be a whole lot worse off."

"What! Why?"

"I kinda…lied to you. Back at the hospital."

"I knew it! I knew there was something you weren't telling me!" Spike leaned forward. "So what did the guy really have you do? It would have to be something really big to mean something to the Decepticons..."

"Um, actually that part was true."

"So...what then?"

_Oh, boy. Here it comes..._ "Technically Starscream isn't a Decepticon anymore." Skyler braced herself for the explosion. _One. Two. Thr-_

::That isn't permanent,:: Starscream muttered.

"What!?" they both shouted simultaneously.

::Shut up.:: Skyler tried to push him out of her mind.

::Oh, no,:: Starscream purred, ::Your condition was that I leave you alone while you talked to the **Autobots**. Nothing was said about your **kin**.::

"Skyler, tell me this isn't some sort of sick joke."

"I wish it was," she muttered. _Might as well get it all out as quickly as possible._ "He told me to get one of those Allspark fragment things from this small cave. Megatron," Skyler shuddered, "showed up. Believe it or not, Starscream saved me. He was injured and I helped repair him. Because of that, Starscream said he was going to bring me back to Detroit. I thought he was lying, but he just let me go." _There, the truth is out. Severely edited, but the truth._

"But you were gone for **three days** that time! What did you eat?"

Wordlessly, Skyler pointed to her backpack.

"And the bruises I saw...?" Spike asked.

"If I had to guess...from when he saved me from Megatron." They'd disappeared by now, but some of the stiffness remained.

::Glad to hear you admit it.::

Skyler's eye twitched. Was he trying to make her show some sign of the Bond?

"And you didn't try to run away?" If it had been Spike in that position, there was no way he'd have stuck around.

"Starscream had a real short temper." She flinched involuntarily; would that offend her listener?

::And growing shorter by the moment, girl.::

Not as much as she'd thought. ::You insisted on listening to this! Since you aren't making this go any faster. You. Can. Wait! ::

"What I want to know," Sparkplug said, "is why you helped a Decepticon in the first place, since you insinuated that you didn't know he was going to let you go at the time!"

::As would I, little fleshling,:: her personal tormentor purred smoothly. ::Why **did** you help me? It certainly wasn't an attempt on my gratitude...:: For a human, she wasn't stupid, although his estimation of her functionality had risen the more she cooperated.

Skyler rubbed the heels of her palms against her temples. Now she understood how people could tear their hair out in frustration. "I. Don't. Know! Okay? Don't you think I've been asking myself the exact same question ever since?" ::I don't know why! And spare me any comment on faulty inferior human logic!::

"Why didn't you tell the truth the first time! You just kept lying after that to cover it up!"

"Because I wanted to forget it! I thought that I could just pretend that it never happened!" With that she darted into her room and slammed the door. Skyler sagged back against the door. _That__ could have gone better_. She felt a tapping in her mind, sort of like a sarcastic knock. Skyler sighed. ::Yeah, yeah, I know. You want to hear what I said to the Autobots:: She eased down into a sitting position. ::But I recall an agreement made prior to that one. You said you'd tell me whatever else you knew about this Spark Bond.::

::I meant what I said about speaking face-to-face. So unless you are willing to leave and come to a place where I - no? Then you have nothing to complain about, fleshling.::

_Sonofabitch. Should've known that would be the answer_.

::But that can wait. There's always later, after all. By the way, I was quite interested by how you lied...without ever actually speaking a mistruth.:: Starscream sent the impression of a raised optic ridge. ::So just what did those self-righteous Autobots say in your little...'_détente_'?::

She'd been trying to keep him out for so long that it was difficult to lower her barriers. Barely had they come down when she yanked them right back up.

::No tricks, girl,:: he hissed.

::Wasn't planning any! Unlike **some**, I keep my promises!:: But she kept the block on her mind.

::Then...?:: Starscream probed around the shield, looking for a weak point.

::That. Hurts. I told you I wouldn't hide those memories so you don't have to take them! It really does hurt!::

He growled in irritation but backed off. Forcing his way into her mind would only make it harder to sort through the memories.

Skyler wasn't able to hide in time her confession that Starscream had manipulated her. He was not happy and let her know in no uncertain terms.

::What was I supposed to do, lie? Oh, because that worked so well the first time,:: she said sarcastically.

::And what was...a piece of your memory seems to be missing, girl. Perhaps your fleshy mind is defective,:: he suggested silkily.

_Or maybe there's something I just don't want you to see_. Skyler was not amused. Starscream had seen her memories once through and she had replaced her shield.

She could feel him trying to get around the barrier again. ::**Get out of my head!**:: Skyler screamed.

::Now, is that any way to thank the one responsible for your rescue?:: Starscream purred silkily. The more he reminded her of how much she owed him, the better.

::I heard, but- :: She still couldn't believe it. Starscream working with the Autobots to save her was one of the last things she'd expected.

::You would still be a prisoner or dead if it weren't for me. **I** saved you. The Autobots would never have found you if I hadn't told them exactly where you were. I even led them to you and helped fight Megatron! That is the only reason you are alive right now. **Primus**! it's not like I'm asking for the location of the Autobots' base. All I want in return is to know exactly what transpired between you and the Autobots, since it involves me. Is that really too much to ask of you?:: he said reproachfully, never losing that slick tone of voice.

::Yes!:: Sometimes she felt like a slave to him, except even slaves had the freedom of their minds. Her thoughts were the last thing she had to herself, and would do everything possible to preserve the sanctity of them.

Starscream changed tactics, since his usual suave method wasn't working. Perhaps a little subtlety might do the trick... ::Why do you still resist me, human? Think of the power that I'm offering, power that could be yours...::

::That's just it! I don't want this!::

::Oh, but **I**** do**, fleshling. And that's all that matters.:: His voice was so **loud**. Skyler clapped her hands over her ears in reflex, despite knowing it would do no good. ::Because, as far as I'm concerned, you're an insect. An aggravating little pest that refuses to obey her master's commands. You owe your very **life** to me, human. You are **mine** now.What did the Autobots say to you?::

::I don't mean to sound ungrateful - 'cause I really, **really** am - but I didn't ask for your help. I didn't ask you to save me.:: Skyler's tone turned scathing. ::The puny human didn't beg the mighty, future Decepticon Lord to come to her rescue!::

That was the last straw. Starscream finally lost his temper. ::Impudent fleshling!:: he roared. ::You belong to me! Now **tell me**!::

::How many times do I have to say it? I don't fucking** belong** to you!:: she yelled back.

There was a brief pause. ::Is **that** so?:: Starscream's voice was calm and even again, but with a dangerous edge to it.

_Uh, oh. That __**so**__ does not sound good._ Skyler slammed a tight shield into place and imagined hiding beneath it like a turtle shell. Starscream was pissed and there was no telling what the volatile Seeker would do.

Razor-sharp daggers clawed at her shield, scraping across and seeming to leave jagged scars in their wake. Resistance was futile; his will was the only thing that mattered. _I won't give in!_ Skyler dug her nails into her hand, the pain anchoring her.

::This isn't over,:: he hissed, furious. Starscream's presence departed from her mind so abruptly that it hurt.

_No,_ she thought, _it isn't._

Life just really sucked at the moment. Somehow she'd managed to become involved with every Cybertronian on the whole freakin' planet. Skyler closed her eyes. _I am __so__ screwed. Lied to the Autobots, defied the 'Cons, and now even Starscream's ticked off_. She must have some sort of suicidal death wish_._

Skyler had managed to slip out of being returned to Starscream...barely, through sheer chance. So now that the only contact with him was mental, she had forgotten that he would know exactly where she was, and there was nothing that would stop him from coming after her, even if it meant coming to Detroit himself and tearing apart a building to do so. She'd grown overconfident since all he could do was yell and completely forgotten that if she pissed him off, he would find her and make her suffer for it.

_I wonder if I'll get a warning this time since __last__ time I didn't sense him. 'Course, knowing __my__ luck, that won't matter._ Because Megatron knew where she was, too, albeit with less precision.

But at the same time, Skyler was somewhat glad of Starscream's suffocating possessiveness. _But only slightly_, she told herself. He had a point; she was no good to him if she was hurt. So, that scheming backstabber would make sure she was protected from Cybertronians, particularly the other Decepticons, especially Megatron.

Her first reaction to that thought had been _Hell__ no!_ However, Starscream had every reason to want her safe and uninjured while Megatron did not. The catch, though, was that Starscream considered '_safe_' to be, if not literally in his servos, then preferably within grabbing distance, which didn't sound terribly appealing.

Skyler tilted her head back, looking at the tiled ceiling._ I'm not like Sari; I don't __want__ to be famous or involved with the Cybertronians._ If her parents had lived, would she be in this mess now? She didn't really have any ties here, but if she left what family she **did** have to keep them safe from Megatron, it would be like a bright neon sign to Starscream, flashing '_Come and get me_'! On one hand, she wanted to know anything else Starscream knew about their Bond, but not if it meant giving up her freedom, as he said he'd only tell her face-to-face. _Ulp._ First chance she got, she was going to fit whatever supplies she could into her backpack...just in case she had to run.

And just in case she didn't hate herself enough already: Skyler had been frightened earlier, not because she was worried that one (or more) of the Cybertronians would be hurt, but because she was worried Starscream would be injured and drain her energy to repair himself again. _I sound so selfish, _she wept.

_Mom, Dad, if you were still alive, what would you have done? Would you approve? Would I even have the guts to talk to you?_ Suddenly, Skyler realized just how little she knew about her parents. Her only memories of them were from a child's perspective. _No, not a child; a toddler. Baby, even._ She could form a picture of them, a hazy idea based on other people's accounts of her parents...but what were they really like? As **people**. On a **personal** basis, what were they like? Professor Sumdac knew, but she wasn't able to ask him earlier, and asking him **now** would be uncomfortable, to say the least. The Autobots now knew she Bonded with Starscream (and what it consisted of), so Sari almost certainly knew, which meant the Professor probably knew as well. So asking him would be tricky...and too complicated.

She huddled into a ball, crying silently. Skyler had never felt so alone. She didn't have anyone to confide in. Of those she would even consider speaking to, only three came to mind. One terrified her; he was a maniacal egotist with no respect for any form of life, sadistic, cruel, and responsible for much of Skyler's current troubles. And as for the other two...she was too much of a coward to even mention what she was going through, lying so that they wouldn't think to ask her about it. How could she share with them when she was too afraid to even look her family in the eye?

**A/N - **Well, there you have it. You see what Starscream **really** thinks of his Partner.

I have fans on DA! Thanks, Loki7744! I really appreciate it!

Hooray! Twice in one week! I had most of this written already, and I worked on it while I was stuck on last chapter. I hope I won't ever go 3 months without an update again...

_Next chapter: Skyler tries to ease back into normalcy, but a certain well-known loudmouth can't keep a secret to save his life._

**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N - **So, many of you have been hoping/asking for Starscream to get his servos back on Skyler. I agree, just 'cause he's such a creeper and I'm a hopeless Screamer fangirl (and Seeker fangirl. Those wings and heels are smexy!). But that's next chapter, sorry. (I'm so evil. My fangirl half is not happy with me. Cookie? [pleasedon'tkillme...]) I'll make it up to you guys then. Promise. You'll get your fill of Starscream creepiness. *evil laugh* And I'm celebrating the return of low-80-degrees-Fahrenheit weather. It kept getting into triple digits **without** the humidity and stuff factored in. I was scraping and then repainting curbs all last week.

**FINALLY!** It has happened! Transformers:Prime Starscream leaves the Decepticons! I LOVED episode 20 "Partners". Damn that two-wheeler, she ruined the Armada idea we've been wishing for. We've got, what?, **six** more episodes this season with season 2 starting in November? No new episodes have been announced yet. Bummer. **NOTE:** Just found some sites claiming that the Constructicons will feature, and that Sierra apparently sneaks inside Bulkhead to the Autobot base and sees Jack there.

I know there's a **TON** of Optimus Prime/June Darby shipping out there, but I had this strange idea going into episode 20 of June/Starscream. And then it somehow got turned into a love triangle and...I give up before my brain fries. Found a neat quote on the video about Starscream going rogue: _Yes, but he doesn't usually rip through alliances faster than his ammo._ It just sounds funny.

As always, Skyler Farrier belongs to me while Transformers does **not** (be cool if it did, though). Her parents are referenced in this chapter and they are my creations as well. Ashley Fay belongs to Megatronswifey. I was given permission to use her for a requested story and couldn't resist a brief cameo. [Still working on it, but I don't want to upload a single chapter and then have to wait months for the next one. It's coming. o.o' I think my muse is overworked.] I want to get my desktop computer moved up to my room; I don't like sharing a rickety table with my kid brothers' computers. Is hard to write with someone reading over your shoulder, no? Please review! Reviewers get a cookie! Or the delicious cornbread muffins I'm baking.

* * *

A twisted sheet of metal smashed into the wall. Single optic whirring, Lugnut followed its path while observing his Leader with his lesser side optical sensors. His servomotors whined unhappily; he had **never** seen his glorious Master this angry, not even when that filthy traitor was revealed as the one responsible for sending the Decepticon Lord offline. The last fifty stellar cycles had been very hard for the stocky mech. He **knew** in his central processor that Megatron yet lived...when every **other** Decepticon thought their Leader gone for good. Fortunately he had been partnered with Blitzwing. The crazed triple-changer's reaction had been gratifying, despite that he, too, believed Megatron was lost to them; who **cared** about the identity of their replacement Leader? Such an insult to their Master had to be repaid **first**. Spilled Energon, crushed metal, broken Spark chambers; a response befitting their noble Lord.

"Starscream has gone too far this time! Desiring to lead the Decepticons is one thing, but **allying** with **Autobots**! What could have possessed that cowardly traitor to do such a thing?"

Megatron looked at his triple-changer lieutenant. "Blitzwing! Do any of you have an idea?"

Cold spun to Random. "Ahahahahaha! Starscream is crazy!"

"**Ve vill CRUSH that slagging piece of ****scum**!"

"Perhapz..." Cold paused, apparently at odds with his other personalities. "There is..."

"Ooh, but zat iz ze **craziest** idea I haf evar heard!"

"**Agreed! Not even Lugnut vould be ZAT stupid**!" Hot roared. Lugnut's optic narrowed. True, he didn't have much to speak of in the way of processing power, but he **was** one of the few to realize the majesty of their Leader. Why couldn't other Decepticons see this, see Megatron's strength and power?

Blitzwing's rational side regained control. "Yez, but ze possibility exists zat..." He frowned. "How else could zey haf found our base? And zere iz ze matter of zat AllSpark shard zat vent miszing. Starscream had it, but ve did not detect his energy signal in ze vicinity of ze underground fragment."

Lugnut stormed over and slammed Blitzwing up against the wall. "Your Master asked you a question! **Answer**!" He was well-known for his patience; as long as it did not adversely affect his Lord or the glorious Decepticon Empire, it was irrelevant and beneath his notice. Threats...he would give his very Spark as Megatron commanded, though there was very little that could actually harm his Leader. However, he would **not** tolerate any slight towards their Master.

Blitzwing knew this well. "Ah, Zpark Bond! Noszing elze makes senze!" Cold-Blitzwing spluttered.

"Let him go, Lugnut."

The hulking bot quickly complied.

Megatron strode towards Blitzwing. "Normally, I would take a suggestion like that as mockery..."

Blitzwing quivered slightly, but his personality remained stable. Hot was not incapable of reason; his formidable prowess on the battlefield was only eclipsed by his tendency to let blind rage dictate his actions. And not even Random would dare to provoke Megatron in this state.

"...but since two of you agree, and your **less** stable personality does **not**...I am inclined to believe you." He turned and walked back to his throne. Blitzwing clambered to his pedes and stood by Lugnut, awaiting orders.

"So...Spark Bonding is in use once more," Megatron mused. His soldiers knew better than to interrupt him when he was planning.

In the early stellar cycles of the Great War, before the Autobot Elite Guard and Ultra Magnus became so rigidly oppressive, forbidding so many things, such as flight-capable Autobots (jump jets, booster rockets, and other short-range modifications were the exception), Bonding was fairly common, even among Decepticon ranks.

There was one main problem: the organic could not be coerced or threatened into the Bond. But they weren't known as the **Decepticons** for nothing. His soldiers were well versed in trickery and misdirection; Megatron owed his own Spark to his ability to deceive Professor Sumdac into believing he was an Autobot **and** in convincing the human not to reveal his continued existence.

**What** could that glitch-processor Seeker be **thinking**? Megatron's SIC wasn't stupid; Starscream would have known how vulnerable a Spark Partner would make him.

An evil smile stretched across the Decepticon Warlord's faceplate. Starscream had made his final mistake.

* * *

"Why is **she** still here?" Spike's girlfriend pointed an accusing finger out into the living room.

Skyler glowered at Carly over the book she was reading. "I live here, too." Carly had, once again, decided to '_forgive_' Spike and they were officially dating again.

The blond widened her eyes innocently. "Oh, really? I would have thought you'd be too scared to come back here after what happened. I mean, Megatron and the Decepticons and all..."

"Don't feel like it," Skyler grumbled.

"C'mon, sis, what're you scared of? It's not likely you're going to run into Starscream at the mall." He grinned at Carly.

"**SPIKE!**" Skyler yelled. "I told you not to mention that!"

Carly looked at Skyler oddly. "What do you - ? Ohhhh. The rumor was **true**, then?"

_**Damn**. Wait for it. Waaaaiittt for it..._ Skyler closed her eyes.

"What was he like?" Carly said eagerly. _And there it is._

"Screw it," Skyler muttered. She snatched up her bag and headed for the door. One rested hand on the doorknob as she paused. "I'm going out. **Yes**, I have my phone; **no**, I don't know when I'll be back; **yes**, I'll be careful. Good**bye**." Skyler glared at her brother. "Don't try to follow me, Spike, I can take care of myself. 'Sides," she added in a dull voice, "anything I **can't** handle," _one way or the other_, "you couldn't help with anyways." With that, she closed the door behind her.

Carly looked at Spike. "So," she said, leaning in coyly, "what all happened with her?" _This sounds like a **great** story!_

* * *

Skyler drew in a deep breath. While the air quality was nowhere **near** as bad as it had been a few decades ago, it was still far from pristine. Still, it was fresher than the garage at this point. _A nice, **normal** day for once!_ She sighed in pleasure. The Autobots no longer had a reason to bother her (and they hadn't, anyways, which she thought was fortunate) and Starscream hadn't bothered her since..._ I am **so** going to pay for that later._

The only unusual activity had been courtesy of the British-accented nutcase that called himself the '_Angry Archer_.' He'd apparently decided to celebrate his escape from jail by robbing a bank. The police hadn't even bothered to **call** the Autobots (the reporters found this as amusing as the guards had); his explosive arrows (crafted **after** he broke out of police custody) had failed to detonate, leaving the man without an exit route. The Angry Archer was yet again cooling his heels in prison.

She was just running a simple errand. Spike's comment to his (sometimes ex-) girlfriend had reminded Skyler that she needed to resupply her backpack. And the good part was that she could just load all the groceries right into the bag, with no worries about room or weight. As long as no one noticed. It occurred to her that she could possibly be a great shoplifter, but the idea was repellant to her. Why steal when she didn't have to?

Skyler passed by an old schoolmate, Ashley Fay, who was openly eying a cute guy with dirty-blond hair and a blue shirt. Skyler grinned and gave Ashley a thumb-up, mouthing "Go for it." The young man seemed oblivious. _And not too bad-looking, either_, she noted with a small smile. _Poor guy looks a little uncomfortable_. In another situation, Skyler would have chatted him up herself. She didn't date much, and many guys (and girls) were unnerved by her close relationship with Spike, who wasn't blood-related. _"He's my **brother**," she would protest_.

She was still smiling as she paid for her groceries and went outside, stopping in a corner for a brief moment to drop the supplies in her backpack.

_Maybe I'll just wander around for a bit, enjoy the nice day_. _I just feel like having a friendly conversation with someone._ Sparkplug was right; being out and about was doing her a lot of good. A sunny day, gentle breeze, nothing importan-

Then, a voice interrupted her musings. "Excuse me miss, are you Skyler Farrier?"

She was brought back abruptly to reality. "Huh?" she could only say stupidly.

"We're coming to you live downtown with Skyler Farrier, daughter of the late Kaitlin and Joel Farrier, who was recently a prisoner of the Decepticons. According to an anonymous source, we have also learned that she recently was involved with the renegade Decepticon Starscream. Skyler! Any comments?" The newsbot shoved a microphone into her face as those nearby crowded around to listen.

"I - uh... Look! What's that over there?" Skyler sprinted away as soon as they turned around. _I need to find a way to ditch th__ese_ _idiots and **quickly**._ She wasn't very athletic and didn't have enough stamina for a prolonged chase; a quick sprint was all that she could manage at the time.

Skyler recognized the area she was heading into. _Aw, **hell** no!_ But she could hear her pursuers gaining. _No choice._

There were noticeably fewer people chasing her now. Several had broken off, as if scared of the rougher neighborhood. Skyler was worried, too, but not because she was afraid of a mugger or some other creep. She was **very** close to where she had run into Starscream...literally. **That** event (while not the worst...or even **close** to the worst) had started off a whole series of events. The area was already bringing back bad memories.

She stumbled around the corner and fell to the ground. Skyler gasped for breath down on her hands and knees. Her wheezing sounded unnaturally loud to her. Skyler looked up. _Uh, oh,_ she thought. She had been a little **too** successful in ditching the mob. The nearby streets were **completely** deserted.

Hopefully she could take a longer route and get home without running into another news crew. _Once I...catch...my breath...again. Whoo._

* * *

**A/N -** _*cough*I hate Carly*cough cough*_ Can you tell?

The names of Skyler's parents...I was tossing around ideas on May 3rd and decided to take a shower. Showers are very relaxing, you know? Inspiring. So I fiddled with some friends' names a little bit, and wound up with Mr and Mrs Farrier.

Since Blitzwing has 3 separate personalities, I figured he would think 3x as much. One personality is random and might consider the Bond while Cold is rational enough to realize that it makes sense. Hot would be more interested in a fight. And I managed to have some fun writing Lugnut. Weird. I can't stand that besotted scrap-for-brains 'Con. Meh. So...now the Earth Decepticons know. Poor Skyler.

My poll about Sari/Bumblebee Bonding and whether or not she's a techno-organic is still up.

_Next chapter:__ Starscream catches up to his Partner and Skyler learns a few unpleasant things._ And I ramble a lot less.

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**  
_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N** - I have learned my lesson; save. Save often. I have triple-copied all my documents to other places (found my other thumb drive!) so I won't have a repeat of last time. Meh. At least it was Double Trouble that I lost, and not everything from WTAS, like I had previously thought. Nope, just this chapter. Managed to find a month and a half old version on my computer. I mean, I've been looking forward writing to this chapter for almost two years now! Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Skyler sat in the all, trying to figure out where to go next. Looking up when she heard a jet fly overhead, she immediately noticed the Decepticon insignia displayed prominently on the wings. _Crap. This is just not my day._ The wind created by the abrupt landing almost knocked her over.

"Get in," Starscream growled, cockpit hatch sliding open.

"And hello to you, too," she muttered sarcastically, dusting off her jeans. Then, louder, "What the hell do you want now, Starscream?"

He hissed angrily, "You heard me the first time."

Skyler eyed him warily. There was no telling whether he was still angry about her earlier disobedience. Actually, there was; Starscream wouldn't forget that kind of insult easily. So it was a question of how mad he still was. "That I did. So I asked what it was you wanted."

"Don't argue with me, you stupid fleshling!"

"Insults are not the way to get me to do what you want!" she yelled. _He can't follow in these narrow streets._ She took one step back, preparing to run again. But where to?

Starscream snarled, "Oh, no you don't!" and started to transform.

"Ah! Alright!" Heart pounding, Skyler realized that she wouldn't be able to escape; he would catch her. It would hurt, and Starscream would be even more irritated than before. He wouldn't trust her, assuming (correctly) that she'd be waiting for an opportunity to escape. And she'd feel 'slightly' better about it if she went voluntarily.

Starscream reversed his transformation. "Get. In," he said in a tone that revealed just how dangerously close he was to losing his (admittedly thin) patience. When she hesitated, he warned, "I will not ask again, girl."

_It's not much of a choice, but it's more than I would have expected_, Skyler thought as she climbed into the jet's cockpit. "So..." she began slowly when they were far above Detroit, "what exactly did you- " _Not now!_ She felt the warning pulse again, three of them this time, and somewhere behind her.

Skyler shifted around in the harness, peering over the rear of the jet to see three aircraft descend out of a cloud bank: a purple and green bomber, a purple and grey fighter jet, and a grey dual-rotor helicopter with a red cockpit. Skyler paled. _Oh, __**no**__. And here I thought this day couldn't get __any__ worse..._

::Slag,:: she overheard from Starscream when he realized what she was looking at.

"Stars**cream!**"

"**Sorry**! You must have me confused with some other Harrier jet!" Starscream banked sharply around and flew higher into the clouds in an attempt to lose the other Decepticons.

Some time after the Decepticons' energy signatures had vanished from Starscream's scanner, long enough for him to be certain they were gone, the jet descended into a thickly forested region far from Detroit. Careful not to snap off the branches and leave evidence he'd been in the area, the Harrier settled down on the ground, shutting off the last of the power to his thrusters. One of the monitors flickered on and scanned the area.

_They really are gone._ Her 'gift' was still working enough that she knew they were far away.

The scanner powered off after detecting nothing. "Still no idea?" Starscream growled as he let her out so her could transform.

Skyler shook her head quickly, still trying to catch her breath after the rapid descent. ::Not a clue...please don't **ever** do that again. I'm really starting to hate flying.::

Smirking, he sat down and held out his hand for her to climb on.

_This day went downhill fast_. Last time she'd talked to him, she'd resolved to stay out of his literal reach, and he wanted her in his hand. _I really don't want to argue with him right now_, Skyler thought, easing herself onto the servo. Sighing, she asked, "Now what?" He'd promised to tell her anything else about their Bond the next time they were together. _Well, here I am._ But the prospect of asking seemed a little too much like admitting her fear.

"I haven't decided yet."

"You haven't decided? Don't I get a choice?" _So much for not arguing..._

His optics flickered down to look at her and Starscream hissed, "A choice? How's this for a choice? Either you do exactly as I say or I leave you to Megatron's nonexistent mercy."

Skyler opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off.

"Argue all you want, but you Bonded with me. You chose this." Starscream laughed cruelly at her confused expression. "Really? The Autobots didn't tell you? How...unfortunate." He laughed again. "Very well. Since those sentimental fools overlooked that minor detail, it seems I get to inform you instead. I told you that the Spark Bond is between one organic and one Cybertronian and that I couldn't force you to bond with me. However, merely agreeing is not enough. The Bond will only form between two **willing** participants."

Skyler sucked in a shocked breath. She could see where this was going.

"Exactly," Starscream sneered. "You didn't bond with me because you were afraid I would hurt you. Bonding with me meant you wanted this. Whether you were aware of it or not, you. Wanted. This." His servos curled in possessively. "You are **mine** now. The Autobots didn't offer to save you from the evil Decepticon you bonded with, did they? Did they?" He wanted an answer.

Skyler shook her head quickly. _No, they...he thought they'd try to 'save' her? Was that was why he was so upset they drove off with me?_

So that wasn't what she had been hiding. Interesting. Starscream sneered, "Of course not. Because those soft-Sparked glitches realize you wanted to belong to me. **You** effectively told every single Cybertronian that I own you **and** that you're perfectly content with it." Actually, that last part wasn't quite true, but Skyler didn't need to know that.

Skyler didn't know what to say. It had to be a lie. Had to! She swallowed nervously. "Then why are you bothering to protect me?"

"Because," he hissed, "you belong to me, not Megatron."

Angered, Skyler stood up. "That's great! You mean I'm only alive because you have some stupid grudge against him?" With that, she pushed off his servo and, landing unsteadily on the ground, darted off. The woman was yanked off her feet by Starscream grabbing the collar of her shirt before she could get too far.

Skyler glared at the receding ground as if it was to blame. Hearing delicate servomotors squeal as he lifted her into the air and set her on his other servo, she frowned up at his optics, a look of irritation on Starscream's face.

A few long minutes passed. Finally Skyler cracked; she couldn't stand the silence. "What the hell do you want?" she yelled, frustrated tears blurring her vision. "You got that damn fragment and I didn't sell you out to the Autobots or anything! **You got what you wanted!**"

"Wrong," he growled, "I am not the leader of the Decepticons."

Skyler was shocked. "And you expect me to help you? You're crazy! What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Starscream smirked. "I'm sure I'll think of something." Skyler shuddered. "But until then- " She suddenly dove for the ground and took off again. He paused long enough to calmly reach over and grab Skyler, having anticipated her flight. Glaring and allowing an irritated tone to creep into his voice, he continued, " -until then, I can't have my soft little pet running off." He smirked again. "I can tell you have no intention to obey- "

"Damn straight," Skyler muttered.

" -so you have left me no choice," Starscream finished.

_What?_ Skyler blinked, extremely confused. _That__ didn't sound good._

His optic lenses glowed a brighter red as he smirked and his digits closed around her. Skyler jerked back in reflex and found herself trapped; she couldn't move at all. _Oh, shit._ She paled.

"You appear to be operating under the delusion that your opinions matter."

_Not good. Not good. __So__ not good!_ Skyler stared fearfully at the harsh red optics, trying not to panic. She couldn't think of anything to do.

"Where is all your bravado now?" Starscream crooned, using the tip of one servo to trail down the side of her face.

She strained to shrink away from the contact. Preoccupied, Skyler didn't notice the cockpit hatch slide open.

Starscream smirked, enjoying the look of fear on her face. He sneered, "You keep forgetting that you have no say in these matters. Perhaps you need to be reminded of who your master is."

"I'm not your pet!"

The corners of his lip components twitched upwards. "Either you're my pet...or just a tool. So," Starscream asked, a huge smirk on his face, "which is it?"

_Neither!_ Skyler growled, "You're an egotistical rusted- "

"Pet, then," Starscream concluded, grinning down at his captive.

" -bastard!" she yelled, trying to pull her arms free, "Let me **go**!"

Was that all she could argue about? He snickered, "As you wish," and sealed Skyler into the cockpit compartment. The Seeker couldn't watch her constantly for signs of escape and his servomotors would get stiff locked into position for too long. With her trapped in there, Starscream could focus his whole processor on how best to continue avoiding the more loyal Decepticons.

Skyler slowly climbed to her feet to see the hatch slide shut. _Not again!_ Pounding her fist against the semi-transparent cockpit cover, she shrieked, "Let me out of here!"

Starscream shifted position. She was incapable of inflicting any damage, but her actions were making him rather uncomfortable. "Enough, human."

"My name is Skyler!" she shouted.

"Fine then, Skyler," he mocked, "if you have any common sense in that simplistic fleshling mind of yours, you'll stop before you make me really angry."

Skyler slid to her knees, one forearm propped against the hatch. _I never expected this would happen._ She rested her head against her arm and looked outside. "Please let me out," she whispered sadly. Skyler could see the distorted outlines of trees, swaying gently in the breeze, through the tinted glass of the cockpit hatch.

"You should have thought of that earlier," he snarled. A pause, then, in a more controlled tone, "I suggest you sit down and wait for **me** to decide what course of action to take."

Frustrated, she sat down and held her head in her hands. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. Carefully, she reached out with her mind to try to see what Starscream was thinking.

_Lugnut's such a fragging idiot he won't be a problem, Blitzwing_- He noticed right away. "Your input has no bearing on my decision," Starscream growled.

"Your decision affects me!" she said. "So I should know!"

"I'll tell you what I decide when **and if** I feel like it, the likelihood of which decreases every time you bother me! Now clamp it or I'll shut off your air supply until you lose consciousness!"

Grumbling, Skyler leaned back, determined to be patient. After a while, her mind began to wander, her fingers tapping out a quiet rhythm on the metal next to her.

This also annoyed Starscream. "Irritating little insect, I am warning you..."

Skyler had had enough. She may be a captive, but that didn't mean she had to cooperate. "But you won't! As you just said so eloquently, you need me!" she said belligerently. "If you didn't, then you would have just left me alone!"

Starscream merely growled once in reply.

Skyler sat there, wondering. _He's just going to let that go?_ It began to get warmer and she felt out of breath. Suddenly Skyler remembered his earlier threat. "No, no, no, **no**!" she screamed.

"Calm down! I'm not going to kill you, just shut you up for a while," Starscream said, exasperated at her overreaction.

::**No!**:: There wasn't any oxygen left. Her head spun and her vision started to fade.

Skyler's sheer terror made Starscream hesitate. The human needed to learn her place, but he didn't want to have to put up with her desperate pleading. And, when she recovered from the forced stasis, she'd be impossible to deal with. He reluctantly restored her airflow, adding, "Very well. But I will not tolerate any further insolence from you. Is. That. Clear?"

Skyler collapsed on the floor, sucking in much-needed air gratefully. She shivered. ::I understand.::

"You'd **better**," he snarled.

She flinched. He was extremely annoyed and it frightened her. Skyler had never really had a problem with small enclosed places, but the tension (as well as her imprisonment) were driving her insane. She shifted position in an attempt to stretch her stiff legs.

"What are you doing now, human?" Starscream asked in a long-suffering tone.

"Trying to get comfortable; it's really freaking cramped in here!"

"Stop that!" he snapped, "You have no idea how strange that feels." He'd used that compartment for storage before, but never for anything moving. That area was **inside him**!

"You should have thought of that earlier," Skyler snarled back, in a fair imitation of his earlier tone.

Starscream grimaced, shifting slightly in discomfort himself. "Comfortable?" he asked acerbically.

"As much as possible, considering the circumstances," Skyler grumbled.

"Out of curiosity, did you have an idea in mind earlier, or were you just annoying me for no reason?"

"Oh, now you're asking me what I think?"

"You are going to complain no matter what **I** decide so if granting you this one concession will get you to shut up and leave me alone..."

"I don't know. It's kind of hard to think in here..." she trailed off hopefully.

"Nice try," he said, somewhat amused.

::Damn!::

Starscream smirked; he knew there was a reason he tolerated the human's presence.

Skyler sighed. "No, not a clue."

Since she didn't have any suggestion, surely the human couldn't object to his plan. Starscream stood up quickly, paying no attention to Skyler's indignant yells, and transformed. The restraints once again yanked the girl into the seat and pinned her there.

"Ow! Dammit, Starscream, you know I'm not going anywhere!" She kicked the monitor array once and got a vindictive sense of pleasure at his pain. "Where the hell would I go when you're God-only-knows how high up?" Skyler continued.

"Care to find out?" he suggested maliciously, banking until he was perpendicular to the ground to allow her a glance at the ground flashing past thousands of feet below.

"**No!**" Skyler shrieked, cowering back into the seat and clutching the harness, shaking.

Starscream cackled, returning to a normal flight path.

"So," she said in an attempt to regain her composure, "why did you pick now to come after me?"

He said smugly, "I saved your life. Again."

"What do you mean, 'again'? They were after you!"

"Did you really think that would be the end of it; that you could just walk away? Megatron does not forget easily," Starscream hissed. He should know; he'd had millions of years of personal experience. "You only made things worse by appearing on the human news system. You should be thankful I was in the area **and** feeling generous enough to help you."

_I didn't __try__ to-_

"My point is that your incompetence created a problem that I had to deal with."

"Oh, right, because you went so far out of you way," she said sarcastically. "I didn't ask you for anything! Why would you bother anyways?"

"Because," he sneered, "you are still of use to me."

"Oh, that's comforting," Skyler continued with the sarcasm, feeling extremely cranky. "And I don't like the idea that you only saved me because you're a possessive jerk with a grudge."

"You are just going to have to learn to deal with it," Starscream snapped.

Skyler couldn't not look at him, but she conveyed the impression by staring fixedly at the sky.

Amused, he saw that she was sulking again. Starscream activated his comm-link. "In case you miserable piles of scrapmetal **didn't** already know, Megatron was in Detroit a few megacycles ago on business."

/Starscream! What have you done with the human?/

_Hey!_ Skyler forgot her anger long enough to snap, "'The human' is listening!"

Starscream sniggered.

/Skyler, you're unharmed?/

"Regardless of where the blame lies..." Skyler broke off to glare at the Harrier jet's monitor array, where she was pretty sure Starscream was watching, "...I wouldn't be alive if not for Starscream."

The jet shook as Starscream barely restrained his mirth.

The cyber-ninja processed that information. He was on monitor duty while the others were on patrol. /What happened?/

Skyler sighed quietly. "Lugnut, Blitzwing, and Megatron."

/Why did you contact us, Starscream? What did you have in mind?/

"A temporary truce, of sorts. It appears our goals align, especially now that Megatron has made it clear he wants my Spark Partner." He couldn't resist reminding the Autobot of his influence over the young human.

/I will have to confer with Optimus,/ Prowl said. /It may be another megacycle or two, though./

Skyler clamped her hands over her ears when the comm shut off. It wasn't a moment too soon for Starscream began laughing hysterically. Wincing, she wondered why his laugh was pitched higher than his voice. And of course, the mental cackles didn't have the same 'sound'. She added that to the list of why she hated being in his presence.

**A/N** - For some reason, the idea of Decepticons (or Autobots) keeping humans as pets fascinates me. However, TFP Knockout called Raf "Bumblebee's human friend" while others (such as TFP Starscream) called Miko "the Autobot Bulkhead['s]...pet vermin."

**Please review!** Reviewers get cookies!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N** – Editing this chapter to clear up the one piece. It is one, not two.

* * *

"Those slagging glitch-mainframed idiots! They intentionally gave vague directions!" Starscream flew in a tight circle over Detroit. The Autobots had agreed to a cease-fire, but insisted that any talk of a truce, an agreement, had to be done at their base. They had provided coordinates, but that wasn't much help in densely-packed Detroit. He couldn't tell which building concealed their base, which was sort of the point in the first place.

"Human - Skyler," Starscream corrected himself exasperatedly at her flare of resentment, "you've been to the Autobots' base and know what it looks like."

"Not from the outside! And why would I recognize it from the air?"

"Scared I'll drop you?" he sneered. "You can use my optics."

Skyler didn't answer, choosing to merely glare at the monitor bank.

Starscream sighed. "The sooner you locate their base, the sooner I can land."

Well, she couldn't argue with that logic. Skyler allowed her awareness to fuse with his, successfully reproducing what he'd done earlier. There were several visual overlays, displaying things like wind speed, air temperature, altitude... Skyler tried not to notice that last one.

Something caught her attention and she focused on it. The zoom increased, revealing the mysterious object to be the leafy branches of a tree poking through a crumbling roof. _There_, she thought. _That one_. Then she pulled her mind away. It felt like the barriers between their minds were nonexistent, and there were things Skyler did not want him to know. But she'd risk it for a short time, if it meant getting back on solid ground. It was only the second time they had ever done that, but she hated the feeling. Skyler hated even touching his mind. It was pervasive, a slow, roiling undercurrent below the surface of his thoughts; mine. Possessive.

* * *

Starscream transformed and looked down at her.

Skyler hunched her shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere," she muttered.

He stared at her for a little longer before saying, "Then come on."

When they entered the base's main room, the resident Autobots were already assembled. Optimus Prime raised an optic ridge in a query.

Starscream stepped a little to the side, revealing Skyler. "Before we start, I want to make certain one thing is clear; I am **not** joining you Autobots, only helping you finish something you've barely managed to handle," the Seeker huffed indignantly, crossing his arms over his cockpit.

Prowl's lip components twitched slightly, hinting at a smile. "There are a few conditions."

"What kind of '_condition_s'?" Starscream sneered.

Prowl looked pointedly at Skyler. "There's a reason it's called the 'Guardian' Bond."

Realizing what the ninja-bot was implying, she glanced sharply up and Starscream returned her glare.

::What? He can't mean...Oh, no.::

::Oh, **yes**,:: Starscream sneered. ::It appears we will be spending quite a bit of time together::

::Joy,:: she said flatly, to his great amusement.

Starscream focused on Optimus again and snarled, "Fine!" His hostile stare met the mixed suspicion and hostility from the Autobot team.

"We have some preparations to make," the Prime said abruptly, "and will return later." /Bumblebee, Bulkhead, take Sari and let the Professor know what's going on. Warn him that he needs to be careful. Prowl, you're with me, making a patrol for Decepticon activity. We can't be sure this isn't a trap by Starscream to get back in Megatron's good graces. It's not likely, but it could happen. Ratchet, you know the ship best. Take this opportunity to transport our AllSpark fragments there. We can afford losing the base, but not those./

The medic walked away, never taking his optics off the Seeker until he rounded the corner. The Autobots' fragments were shielded and well-hidden, but they couldn't take the risk of a Decepticon discovering. The other mechs left through the front entrance, but Ratchet would leave through a side door shortly afterward.

Starscream looked around the room approvingly. "So...this is the Autobots' base."

Skyler had to sprint to keep up as he walked off to investigate the hideout. As much as she loathed being with him, she feared being left alone even more.

Organics walked so **slowly**.

_Whoah!_ "Hey! Put me down!" she yelled, legs swinging as she struggled.

Starscream stopped walking and looked at her. "No." He watched as Skyler tried to pry his servos off.

She glared. "Let me go you - " Skyler rattled off a long stream of curses and expletives that would have made any sailor proud.

Starscream just waited. Eventually her rant wound down and she, breathing hard, said flatly, "Let. Go."

He smirked. "Ask politely."

"No!" Skyler kicked him, or tried to, and stared hatefully at his optics.

Starscream waited for her to realize the inevitable truth: she didn't have a choice. It was entertaining enough that he didn't mind waiting.

Finally she sighed. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Please...urgh. **Please** let me go, Starscream."

"Much better," Starscream purred, loosening his grasp.

Skyler moved to jump down -_Frag the height, I'm not staying here_-, but Starscream blocked her path with his other servo. "Just where do you think you're going?" he asked sibilantly.

"I - you - " she stammered. "Augh!" Skyler yelled, kicking him again when she realized she'd asked to be let go, not necessarily set down.

Laughing, he set her on his shoulder.

Skyler froze. _Ah! __Not good!_

Starscream turned his head to look at her, sneering, "Scared?"

"Of heights," she said in a small voice.

::This is your fault, you know,:: he pointed out.

::'My fault'? How is this my fault? You started this, with your brilliant 'grab a hostage' scheme!::

Starscream's optics narrowed and he stopped abruptly. Skyler let out a shriek as she slid off his shoulder, even though she didn't fall far before he caught her.

::I have had enough of your insolence, Skyler,:: he growled, tightening his grip slightly to drive his point home. ::Any other choice you could have made would have resulted in you going offline,:: he added, placing Skyler back on his shoulder.

::If that means 'dead,' you're just proving my point. I would not be here.::

::Do you enjoy arguing?::

::No, but I enjoy proving that you're wrong and I'm right.::

Starscream glared. ::You are extremely irritating.::

::So you've said,:: she commented dryly.

He continued walking. All Skyler could do was concentrate on not falling off. Finally he looked at her, irritated. "Do you want me to carry you instead?"

She didn't even have to think about it. "Yes."

"Yes, what?" he prompted.

_This is __humiliating__!_ "Yes, **please**," she said, annoyed.

Starscream lifted his hand up and she stepped off his shoulder. _Is this all really necessary?_ she wondered, suppressing a flinch as the digits wrapped around her, _He knows he's won, so why keep forcing me to admit it? _Would she ever fully understand his motives? Probably not. _Huh. This place doesn't look too bad. It's obvious they fixed it up, made it look more lived-in._ _What the hell?_ One servo was stroking her back. Skyler tried to edge out from underneath, but his grip tightened. Finally she realized what Starscream was doing. He was petting her! "Stop that!" Skyler snapped, trying to squirm loose. Starscream loosened his grip and she shrieked in terror, hanging on as tight as she could.

"What's wrong?" Starscream sneered. "Can't make up your mind? First you want me to let you go, then you want me to carry you, next you want let go, and now you've changed your mind again!"

She scowled at him, assorted emotions vying for dominance in her expression; shock, fear, anger.

His Spark lurched unpleasantly. _What was that?_ Starscream could sense her fear, but this time, for some reason, it didn't amuse him. Not wanting a repeat of whatever had happened to his Spark, Starscream settled for simply carrying her as he explored the rest of the base.

Grumbling, Skyler propped her elbow on his servo, chin in her hand, and stared forward in boredom and exasperation.

* * *

_Well, __this__ is boring_. Skyler had gotten bored and decided to explore the base on her own. But that had grown old. Things looked a lot different from ground level, rather than however-the-heck-many feet she had been in the air.

She'd left Starscream in the base's largest room, which looked like a rec room. Or '_living room_', if you preferred. And, in one of the corners, there was a large electronic system. Skyler didn't know what all it did, but there was some sort of surveillance system. Starscream had been interested in it, barely sparing her a glance when she wandered off. She'd only stayed long enough to determine that the security camera feeds were not located within the building.

Skyler stopped just before the door opening to the main room. She wanted to get past without Starscream seeing her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. _I can't stand here forever. Just go quickly._ Peering around the corner, she saw that Starscream's attention was focused on the various monitor. _Just __go__._

Skyler started walking. _Almost..._ She was so close...

::**There** you are.:: He had turned and was looking right at her. Skyler blanched. There was a dangerous glint in his optics that she didn't like. Starscream smirked, showing his sharp teeth.

::Now, then...:: His optics glowed a little brighter. ::...come **here**.:: It was followed by a tug, yanking her towards him. It was the same thing he'd tried to do earlier last week, back in the clearing.

Her eyes widened but she didn't react fast enough this time. She had no choice; there was only one option: Forward. Skyler fought the entire way across the room, the strain evident. ::No!:: she protested.

::Yes,:: Starscream sneered. There was a flash of helpless rage and she jerked once, but there was no other sign of her struggle. _Good._ He allowed her to stop a short distance away. Skyler glared furiously at him, loathing in her eyes. Hatred was good; Starscream knew how to manipulate with it. He wondered just how far he could push her.

Her glare redirected to the servo he lowered to her level. It was obvious that he wanted her to climb on. The only reason Starscream wasn't forcing her was so she could learn the 'lesson' that it would be much easier to do what he wanted. Gritting her teeth, Skyler walked the last few steps. _I hate being right._ Starscream lowered his hand a little more and tilted it slightly. _Easier._

For a nanoclick, he'd been sure she was about to turn and run. She had certainly been afraid of this new demonstration of his superiority. He was impressed; she knew full well what it meant and hated it. Starscream revised his impression of the human. The Seeker picked her up gently; he did not want to accidentally hurt her, especially now that she was becoming more obedient. The little organic despised him, which was utterly precious. Starscream enjoyed her shudders of revulsion when he touched her but was severely disappointed when that was the extent of her reaction. Skyler said nothing and managed to keep her mind shielded. Which was unfortunate; he wanted to learn what she was hiding from him. What he didn't know could hurt him, especially where the Autobots were concerned. ::**Good** girl:: he purred, ::See? You are learning.:: She didn't reply. He thought back to when they'd Bonded and she had snapped that he got his way, regardless. She didn't know how true that would be, but Starscream didn't think either of them would have imagined this. Unfortunately, he didn't think he'd be able to order her around like that again; it was very difficult and she would be waiting for another attempt, able to shut him out before he could take control. Bored, he toyed with the Autobots' scanner. It was surprisingly accurate and also scanned inside the building. Skyler was too scared to sit on his shoulder, which irked him (like he would ever accidentally drop her), so he held her in his hand. She didn't say or do anything, other than flinching whenever his other servos moved too close.

Skyler was utterly disgusted and felt like screaming because of it. It was all just a part of his egocentric power trip and she would endure. Had to. To just bow out of this...this **contest** that it had become was a surrender she refused to make. It was the one thing she had to hang onto; if she submitted, it would absolutely shatter her sense of self.

She hated that she couldn't stop him from yanking her around like a damn marionette on a string (almost literally now). Hated feeling grateful that he'd saved her when Megatron, Lugnut, and Blitzwing attacked. Hated knowing that the only way she'd stay safe was to remain with Starscream, tolerating both the Autobots' (and Sari's) judgment and Starscream's demonstrations of his power and her inferiority (even if he wasn't hurting her anymore). Hated that he apparently only had two volumes: growl and screech, both of which hurt her ears. Hated being treated like a pet and praised for obeying him. Most of all, Skyler hated that when he'd landed in front of her earlier in the morning, she'd been so damned pleased to see him. _Utterly irrational_. At the time, she was angry (he just showed up, rude and demanding), upset (preferring to avoid camera-bots), and irritated (why couldn't she forget her strange tie to him?). But mostly angry. Still, she was so pathetically happy to hear his grating voice.

_Yes, he saved my life today, but that was __after__ I felt that the bizarre...gladness, whatever the heck was up with that.._ When Starscream had ordered her to get the AllSpark fragment, he'd saved her from Megatron as well. _But __that__ situation was __entirely__ his fault._ And right now, so soon after he'd overridden her free will (only temporary, thank goodness), she was having a hard time staying angry. He'd taken control of her body! Surely that would be infuriating, but instead Skyler was mildly angry. Like when he'd drained her energy to heal himself, she was more exhausted than irritated, but even that didn't last long. _So is it just relief when my expectations are worse than his actions?_ Possibly. Every time she'd had contact with him, she'd been more or less terrified of what he **could** have done. Then relief would be an understandable reaction in that case.

To her surprise, Skyler realized that today was the first time she'd climbed inside the jet, instead of being grabbed and stuffed inside. She felt...uneasy, to say the least. Another, separate, realization was an unpleasant one. Being kidnapped by Megatron had nothing to do with being kidnapped by Starscream or their resultant Bonding. Even more unsettling, if Starscream hadn't forced her to Bond with him, she and the Professor would still be working on that "Space Bridge." Whatever his reasons had been, she was only safe and free (from Megatron at least) because of the magenta Harrier. And not merely because he'd felt that rescuing her was important, but because he'd forced...coerced...tricked her into Bonding with him (supposedly she had to have been willing...he hadn't been lying, but maybe he was mistaken). Starscream had saved her three times now and, as much as she wanted to, there was no denying it. Not when he made a point of constantly reminding her about it.

* * *

"Did you have fun?" Bumblebee grinned cheekily when the Autobots returned, plainly enjoying being able to needle a high-ranking Decepticon.

They both glared; Starscream because such a young, untested bot was mocking him and Skyler because he thought her pain was amusing.

She felt a flicker of Starscream's amusement when he realized she had the same opinion of the smaller yellow bot. The flicker deepened to a silent chuckle when Skyler realized they actually agreed on something!

Glaring mutely at the Seeker, she stalked off after the Autobots.

* * *

Deciding that midnight was more than late enough to go to bed, Skyler brushed her teeth, relieved that her brother's psychotic kitten had a tendency to gnaw on toothbrushes. She'd put it in her backpack to keep the bristles out of Spooky's mouth. _I don't want dead mouse breath. Spike may not mind that stupid cat licking him, but that's just gross._

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed down a nondescript hallway to Sari's room. The Sumdac child didn't need it anymore since her dad was back, so she'd offered it to Skyler. _Its frame is just a tire, but that's better than Dad's couch. Still, __pink__? It will just have to - _

Skyler realized there was someone behind her a split second before she heard a vicious snarl. "Going somewhere?" She spun around quickly, but before she could run or even see who spoke, something massive and heavy dropped over her, pinning her to the base floor.

Starscream enjoyed Skyler's shock and subsequent panic when he trapped her. It was a crude sort of trap, merely his cupped servos, but none the less effective for it.

::Don't you dare scream,:: he ordered.

::I wasn't going to!:: she replied indignantly. Then, ::What are you doing?:: She ran her hands across the interlocked digits, searching for an opening.

::You did not answer my question.::

::It's late; I'm going to sleep. What did you think I was doing?:: Skyler was irritated, but there was a definite undercurrent of fear. It pleased him.

::If that is the case, you were going the wrong way.::

::No I wasn't! Sari's room is over...um...:: she turned around, disoriented and unable to see.

::True, the child's room does lie in that direction.::

::Then what - ?::

::My room is elsewhere.:: She froze, paralyzed by fear.

Starscream took advantage of her immobility to scoop her up, making sure she was still trapped.

::Wha- you- **your** room?::

::Yes, 'my room'. You agreed to this deal also.::

::What deal? I didn't agree to anything!::

::I am upholding my end of the Autobots' bargain, but you must contribute also. How am I supposed to protect you unless you are with me?:: he said innocently.

Skyler's thought processes were still disrupted. ::But...but you...you don't have to do this!::

::That may be, insect. But if you think that I will simply allow my pet, who has already defied my will, to roam unsupervised, then you are sadly deluded.::

She quit looking for an exit and huddled in a corner, shivering. Starscream overheard a quickly stifled thought. ::The Autobots? What makes you think they'll do anything? They didn't act when you told them about earlier!::

::No, I didn't!:: she protested.

She thought he was calling her a coward. Starscream had just assumed that she would run to the Autobots that he hadn't bothered monitoring her closely. When the expected lecture from the self-righteous bots hadn't come, it had puzzled him. He opened his servos to look at the girl.

Skyler flinched. A clear, thin liquid seeped from her eyes. She had done that earlier, the first time he had petted her. _Is something wrong with her?_ Starscream didn't want to ask the aged Autobot only to discover it was nothing. He'd find out what he could before going to Ratchet and avoid looking unnecessarily foolish. He set her down on the berth.

::Stop cringing,:: Starscream said in disgust, ::you're fine. I have no reason to harm you.::

::Other than for your twisted amusement,:: Skyler muttered, waiting for the mech to fall asleep. Once she was sure he had, the woman stood up slowly, hoping the soft rubber soles of her sneakers wouldn't make noise on the metal table. _Quiet. Keep breathing slowly and evenly, as if you were still asleep._ She was fairly close when Starscream's hand blocked her path. Skyler turned and glared.

::Do **not** make me track you down in the middle of the night,:: Starscream snarled, optics glowing brighter in his fury.

'_Make'__ you? As if!_ she thought angrily.

Starscream dragged her back, away from the edge. He set her near his arm-joint so if she tried to go anywhere, she would have to climb over him to do so, and used a servo to force her to look him in the optics. ::I want you to promise not to leave again.::

::Like that will stop me,:: Skyler spat.

::Oh, but it will,:: he smirked, ::because I know just how much you hate lying. A code of honor can be such an inconvenience; I don't know why you bother with one.::

She felt sick to her stomach as she said, ::Fine. I won't...go anywhere.:: The last part was especially hard to get out. Skyler could feel the sting of tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

It wasn't as if the Decepticons, or even Starscream, were known for being particularly truthful, but damn it, he was right; she wasn't going to go back on her word, even if she'd given it to a Decepticon. Starscream had a low enough opinion of humans already. Now that was a weird thought. Did she really want to impress him? Prove Starscream wrong; certainly. But impress him? Still turning it over in her mind, she laid down between the Seeker's torso and the arm blocking her way out.

Starscream watched as his diminutive Partner went to sleep, the inefficient organic version of entering stasis mode. The irritating little pest was still blocking her mind, leaving only communication and a faint hint of emotions open. She had been thinking intently about something, but it wasn't related to any plans for escape. And even that had been dulled when Skyler tried to leave. Very clever. He'd almost completely missed her sneaking off. But what was with that clear liquid again? Stymied, the (former) Decepticon second-in-command resorted to a last-ditch measure: the human internet. Crying is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans ... emotions such as fear or anger. _Well._ That explained it. She still didn't want to accept the inevitable. But it was a strange way - this leaking of fluids - to express unhappiness.

There was much he didn't understand about organics. For example: humans. The Autobots stuck with their sentimental 'freedom is the right of all sentient beings' foolishness, but most of the civilians (and even a large number of the soldiers) were completely afraid and even disgusted by the creatures. Why, then, should the inhabitants of **this** planet fascinate the Autobot team so?

* * *

**A/N** - Please Review!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N** - Uhhhh...Ihavenoexcuse.

I heard FanFiction doesn't allow using the Author's Notes to respond to reviews, and it would take FAR too long to thank everyone individually, but I will try.

Thank you to **_everyone _**who messaged me with questions, reviews, and concerns that I wouldn't continue! (I would insert a little heart here, but FF hates angle brackets ;3; ) It's really helped a rather severe case of Writers' Block. I do plan on finishing this work, even if it takes me awhile. I've had college courses to keep me busy as well as a more severe bout of depression and some family and medical problems. Now that I've worked those out, back to writing!

Note - Mild use of language.

* * *

Skyler was in a state of deep slumber when something nudged her into semi-wakefulness. _What is it?_ she wondered fuzzily, somewhere between awake and asleep.

The nudge came again. Wake up, floated across her awareness. _Don't want to_, she replied, starting to drift off again. In answer something shook her roughly, accompanied by a growl, "Get up, fleshling."

Skyler cracked her eyes open to see Starscream staring impatiently at her, his grey faceplate creased into a frown with those blood-red optics fixed on her. "How long was I asleep?"

"Roughly 2 megacycles."

She groaned. "And in English...?"

Starscream paused for a moment. "Five hours."

Skyler rubbed her head. "Five bloody hours..." She laid back down, an arm across her face. _I'm so tired I could just go back to sleep here._

Starscream rapped his claws on the table impatiently. "Get up!" he ordered again.

She opened one eye a tiny slit. Seeing that he already looked rather angry, as opposed to formerly merely annoyed, Skyler groaned again and slowly sat up, rubbing her face with one hand.

He reached to pick her up, his hand flashing closer, silver claws blocking everything else out of sight. _Ah!_ She scrambled backwards in shock. Starscream grabbed her roughly, snarling, "Running away won't do you any good; there's nowhere to flee to."

Skyler retorted, legs flailing uselessly below his grasp, "Ow! Leggo! I wasn't running, you just startled me!"

He ignored her, of course, and carried her in his fist as he walked out the door. The back of Skyler's shirt had slid up when he'd snatched her, leaving her with the sensation of cold metal against her bare skin. She pushed at his fingers, trying to loosen them, yelling at the Seeker over their Bond. ::What the hell, you stupid sonofabitch? Let me go! You and I both know I can't go anywhere even if I wanted to, so you don't need to keep such a tight grip on me!:: Starscream ignored that as well, but a slight twitch of his servos signified that he had heard her.

Prime's voice reached them. "Starscream, what are you doing?"

Starscream glared at the young Autobot leader who gazed sternly back. Skyler was just glad he wasn't looking at her that way.

Starscream's servos tensed slightly, then twisted and loosened so that Skyler was sitting on his palm. She immediately glared up at him, but he was still watching Optimus, an expression of distaste on his faceplate.

When Skyler didn't say anything, Optimus continued, "Bulkhead and Sari will take Skyler back to her house to pick up anything she needs."

Again the servos closed around Skyler, but the Seeker placed her down on the ground. ::Go, then. But don't even think of doing anything stupid. I **will** be watching every move you make.::

She blanched and hurried off out of sight.

When Skyler disappeared around the corner, he turned to fully face the young Prime again. The stern expression was almost comical on the mech. With arms were crossed over his chest, all that was needed was a pair of extraneous optical refractors and a tapping pede to complete the image of an irked cleric-bot.

"Starscream, we cannot allow you to continue taunting or otherwise harassing Skyler. You knew it was a condition before you...agreed to lend us your questionable aid."

"You're so concerned about the fleshling's welfare, why don't you ask her yourself?" Starscream raged. How dare this Autobot, surely not even a million stellar cycles of age, dictate his actions! "If my human didn't like what I was doing to her, I'm sure she'd run and beg for your help as soon as she was able!"

Optimus let out a quiet "hmph," still frowning up at Starscream. "If you truly want to help, you can start by updating our surveillance console with your knowledge of Decepticon energy signatures."

With that, he walked stiffly out of the main room. The crimson Seeker scowled at the monitors. It was a common punishment detail, and they both knew that.

* * *

"So...you and Starscream..." Sari was relaxing in the driver's seat, watching the steering wheel turn on its own with a bit of jaded fascination.

That reminded her. What was he doing back at the base? She reached out a little instead of responding right away. Starscream was irritated. But not at her, for the moment, at least. Skyler decided not to pry further and looked at Sari uneasily. "Can we not talk about him, please? The less I have to deal with him, the better."

Sari quirked her head. It was quite cute on such a little kid. "Why not?" she asked petulantly.

"I didn't want to have to deal with it." Skyler laughed mirthlessly. "That turned out great."

A phantom claw brushed down her back right as she realized Starscream's vague irritation had dissipated. Bulkhead misinterpreted the woman's shudder of disgust, increasing the strength of his vehicle mode heater.

::Be careful what you tell them, pet,:: Skyler's personal tormenter purred, repeating the motion a few times now that he knew he had her attention.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep from snapping out loud. ::Like hell I'm telling my family about you! And unless you **want** mentioned, you'll stay out of my head while I'm talking to them!::

Not surprisingly, said family expressed shock on seeing her open the door, compounded by the presence of the unmistakeable Sari Sumdac and vehicle-mode Bulkhead.

"Skyler! What the hell - ?" Spike gawked at the Autobot.

"Coffee first, talk later," she grunted, sitting down at the small table.

"Um, here." Spike sat down and passed her a steaming mug, looking at Sari uncertainly. "It'll stunt your growth," he apologized, sliding another mug away from her grabbing hands.

In the end, it took three cups of strong coffee before Skyler was ready to speak.

She lifted her head, purple bags underneath her eyes. "Oh. Yeah. Sari, this's m' brother, Spike. Spike, y' probly know of Sari," she slurred, lifting the mug up to her lips to take another swig.

"So..." her brother began, "you never called last night. Saw you on the television, though," he added helpfully.

Skyler rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and after that the Decepticons came back to finish what they'd started. Guess they realized I wasn't hiding." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

There was a bit of an awkward silence, broken by Sari's over-loud chirp, "So the Autobots agreed she should stay at our base with me!"

Spike blinked in surprise, waving towards Skyler's room. "I...guess you came back to get your stuff?"

With the introduction taken care of, Skyler set off for her room. Barely had she dropped her dull green and blue patterned backpack on the floor than Sari's shorter figure dashed past her, leaping onto the bed with a shriek of joy. "So this is your room, huh?" the red-pony-tailed child said exuberantly, sitting down and continuing to bounce lightly.

_Someone, anyone, grant me the patience to deal with small children._ Skyler merely nodded and crossed over to the dresser, emptying each one on the ground methodically and beginning to refold them for packing.

"So..." Sari began in the tone of someone who desperately wants to ask about the elephant in the room but is afraid of the backlash, "...do you still think it all was a good idea?"

The older woman thought she knew where the child was going. "You mean, if I had to go back and make that choice again, would I still do it? Yeah, I would." First the jeans, folding them into thirds with the zipper on the outside, then piled to be placed in the backpack.

"Does Starscream- "

"Yeah, he knows," she muttered, "and it amuses him greatly." Skyler heard the slight gasp of air as Sari drew breath to speak. She turned to look a the young girl, whose mouth gaped indignantly, ready to talk.

"Before you ask," Skyler said, "no, he's not listening right now." She turned back to her packing. "I'm blocking the nosy sonofabitch out." Skyler paused, struck by the thought that she should probably watch her mouth in front of a girl, who (**far** too young for her intelligence, behavior, and activities) was all of 9 years old. "'Scuse my language," she added.

Sari abruptly burst out laughing and fell off the bed, where she continued to cackle.

Skyler turned back, puzzled. "What? What'd I say?" _What **did** I say? I called Screamer a - oh. Oh. Got it._ "Well, he is!" That triggered even louder giggles. She rolled her eyes at the child's antics.

"You just sound so...unimpressed." Sari grinned, finally done laughing.

"I was impressed. For about a week. Now I'm just ticked off." _Why wouldn't I be? The bastard doesn't dare actually hurt me and the Autobots seem to be living up to their claim of never harming humans, so all I'm stuck with is his annoying bluster. _"It's...complicated." That was the only thing she could think of to say. How could she begin to explain, anyways?

Sari scowled, recognizing the manner of a person avoiding explaining to a kid. "'Complicated' like 'you're too young to understand'?"

"No. 'Complicated' like 'I don't even know myself'."

Now it was time for the shirts. But as Skyler reached for the first one on the pile, Sari spoke up again. "Don't you need another bag? That one's got to be pretty full."

Skyler froze, wincing internally. She'd gotten so used to casually using her backpack's storage capacity around her family that she'd forgotten anyone else would find it strange. Schooling her face into a blank expression, she replied to Sari, "Not if you fold everything up small."

The Autobots' girl, as Skyler called Sari in her head, didn't seem convinced but let the matter drop. She seemed a little embarrassed to see Skyler packing up her underthings.

By the time the two girls were ready to leave, Spike had wandered back off to his garage, his attention span not up to the task of watching Skyler fold clothes. But Skyler wondered if it wasn't so he'd have to say goodbye to her. It would have felt too final.

Even Bulkhead and Sari seemed eager to get rid of her, stopping at the entrance to the old factory long enough to spout some excuse about helping Ratchet and the Professor deal with Bumblebee, or the other way around.

Skyler waved at the retreating forest green tank, relieved that they had taken their prying questions away with them.

**_Wait_**_aminute. Optimus and Prowl are out on patrol, or so I heard, then that leaves me with - _"Yahhh!"

Skyler watched the ground recede as something clamped onto her shirt collar and jerked her into the air. She swung gently, spotting Starscream's unique pedes -black with a silver stripe- walking in her peripheral vision. It took a bit of wriggling but she managed to spin around enough to see his faceplate. And without choking herself in the process, a rather impressive feat. ::Um, hi?::

Starscream sniffed self-importantly and deposited her roughly into his free servo.

_Ow._ ::Jerk,:: she muttered, smoothing her shirt back down. Skyler concentrated on the seams between black hand and silver 'thumb' while she tried to settle her roiling stomach.

::Stop complaining,:: he groused, setting her down on the ground next to the monitor array. Starscream sat in the chair, drumming his claws on the arm and grumbling about small mechs needing small chairs.

Skyler covered her mouth to hide a grin and walked off. She hadn't explored much yesterday, paranoid that the monitors scanned inside the building as well. She wasn't sure who she feared was watching those cameras more - the Autobots or Starscream. Her time stuck in the latter's servo had been enough to satisfy her that the Autobots had no cameras placed inside their factory.

* * *

Starscream was indignant; he would not suffer the insult of being ordered (by some young maintenance bot no less, which was humiliating, even if the mech in question did hold the title of "Prime") to protect what was already his. That he was receiving some sort of punishment for saying as much only made it worse. Angrily, he flicked through the scanning program titled 'Teletraan-1'. The protocols for detecting energy signatures were feeble, barely able to differentiate Autobot from Decepticon. It could, however, detect differences between the individual members of the team, most likely because they had the signatures present when they set up the system.

And yet, as pathetic as the Autobot team was, they had nevertheless been able to hold their own against Megatron **and** the two lieutenants Lugnut and Blitzwing. _Intriguing_, Starscream thought, and made a note to investigate. Let the human wander off to do whatever she wanted for now, Starscream decided as he uploaded what he knew of Megatron's energy signature to the system, he would not be surprised by that bucket of bolts again.

* * *

_Not much to see here._ Skyler had already seen each room once and really didn't want to go through the circuit a second time. The only room she hadn't fully explored was the main one...where Starscream was.

She trudged slowly into the largest room, head down, expecting at any moment to be compelled towards him. For whatever reason, it didn't happen. Skyler decided not to dwell on why, meandering about the room for a short while before heading back to Starscream.

By that time, he was aware of her presence, and didn't allow her even the option of climbing into his hand this time; he grabbed her as soon as she got close enough.

::Ow! What, was I not walking fast enough for you?:: Skyler squirmed, one arm trapped between her body and the curve of Starscream's palm.

::**Feisty** little thing.:: His servos wrapped around her, not quite tightly enough to cause pain. ::I like that.::

::For the last time, I am not a pet! Let me go, you twisted piece of scrap metal!::

::I don't think so,:: Starscream smirked, brushing her back with a claw. He'd caught her with her front against his palm, leaving his servos relatively free.

::Please,:: she growled, infusing as much hate as she could into the word.

Starscream smirked. ::Since you asked so nicely...:: He set her gently down on the table and leaned forward. When she didn't back down, Starscream's smirk grew and he extended his mind, trying to gain entry to hers. Where was the fun in surprising the little fleshling, when forcing her to accept that he was stronger was so much more exciting?

As oily as his mind felt to her, the probes were that much worse, practically dripping with caustic fluid. Skyler dug her fingers into her palms and closed her eyes to focus. She couldn't give in! The force of his mind pressed against hers and she tensed, tightening her shields around her thoughts, around those memories she could not allow the Decepticon to see. _Don't even think of what you're protecting. Just package it together and shove it deep down in your memory._

He let out a short, sharp laugh and the pressure vanished. Skyler opened her eyes as Starscream hooked a digit underneath her chin, forcing her head up to look at him. A slow smirk spread across his faceplate. ::Glad to see you haven't lost your fighting streak. That's good; you wouldn't be as interesting without it. And this wouldn't be **nearly** as enjoyable.:: The back of that same digit brushed her cheek. Skyler trembled, but didn't dare step back. ::There,:: he purred, ::was that so hard?::

A sudden surge of anger and determination welled up inside of her. ::I'm not your **pet**!:: She shoved his servo away in disgust, glaring up at him..

He chuckled. ::Willful little femme, aren't we?::

::Screw. You,:: Skyler hissed, furious.

But Starscream only chuckled and laid his servo flat on the counter next to her, palm up.

She glared at the curved black metal, a muscle in her jaw twitching. ::No,:: she snarled, refusing to be his obedient little human and climb on.

Starscream's smirk abruptly vanished and he growled, ::Since you seem to love choices so much, here's another one - do what I tell you or,:: he lifted his servo up and his claws encircled her, ::I'll make you. Either way, the outcome is the same.:: He set the servo back down and looked pointedly at her. ::Your cooperation is not required, but it would make things easier on me.::

Skyler shuddered and one fist clenched and unclenched a few times, but she climbed onto his hand, settling down with her legs crossed under her.

::I enjoy your resistance, feeble though it is. You cannot succeed, human, because I. Always. **Win**.::

Skyler drooped slightly, refusing to look at him. Sure, he always 'won', but that was because he could make it physically uncomfortable enough for her, and keep doing it, until she conceded deafeat.

::You don't get a choice; you will do things my way. Why are you making this so hard on yourself?:: he crooned, nudging her gently.

::Why should I? Everything you've done so far was for you! Once it just happened to help me as well!:: Skyler blinked away a tear, her angry tone at odds with her posture and expression.

::You're afraid,:: he realized. ::But it's not me you fear right now. You're afraid of the Bond.::

Skyler continued staring at the ground. She closed her eyes and said with some trepidation, ::I should have thought that was obvious.::

This was just another reason he didn't understand humans. It was all but impossible for one to harm their Bonded due to the pain it would cause the other. He'd thought the organic knew this. ::Skyler, look at me.:: The request, accompanied by the use of her name, made Skyler look up.

::I am not cruel to my allies,:: he continued firmly, ::If you help me claim what should be mine, then you will be well taken care of and I will refrain from pointing out what should be obvious. Whether or not I actually call you my pet, you'll be treated well.::

Skyler blinked owlishly. ::What...are you - ::

Starscream interrupted. ::Contrary to what you may think, little fleshling, I am not a harsh master. Think of it this way, pet - when you were in trouble, who did you rely on for aid?:: Somewhat mulishly, Skyler admitted that it had been him. :: Exactly. Me, not the Autobots. And you did Bond with me...::

She ground her teeth. ::Okay, okay, I get it. I don't agree, but I get it.::

Starscream smirked again. ::Good girl.:: His servo suddenly lifted up, sliding her off onto the flat depression on his shoulder.

Trying not to panic and failing miserably, Skyler grabbed onto a thick structural support cable of his neck and clung tight. The cable's owner grimaced and reached up to nudge her away from it. ::Leave those alone. You're not going to fall.::

Skyler sat up, pulling her legs under her after scooting to the relative middle of the depression. She hated heights, always had, and as a result had never experienced them to this extent. It was enough to ensure that she didn't move from her spot. Skyler had to admit, it wasn't that bad, being on monitor duty. She saw Bumblebee take Sari to a BurgerBot joint, Sari's messy mustard and ketchup spill on his interior, and his subsequent hissy fit. Ratchet, Prowl, and Optimus alternated turns stationed at Sumdac Tower. Skyler didn't know why they were being so cautious. _I mean, I know the guy's a genius and all, and was a victim of them before, but he seems a bit...off._ Maybe it was just the extreme stress, but the Professor had seemed extremely eccentric during the time she had spent with him as a Decepticon prisoner.

* * *

When the Autobots appeared on the peripheral scanners, Skyler came to her senses, scrambling down with aid from Starscream. Neither of them wanted the Autobots to know that their 'relationship', such that it was, was anything more than a hate-filled reluctance brokered on necessity.

Skyler ran out of the room, off to a less-frequently used section of the base to stay out of sight for a few hours. As ut git dark, she realized that she could tell where Starscream was - still in the main room and moving. It wasn't as precise as it sounded, functioning more like the old 'hot and cold' game she played with Spike as a child. Skyler walked off to find him, before he came looking for her.

Starscream was about to activate his short-range scanners to detect the faint blip only he would have noticed when, to his surprise, he noticed that she was doing the same to find him. She wouldn't have any sort of radar herself, but the **hypothetical** energy of the Spark-piece he had, again, hypothetically, given her would call out to the rest of itself, guiding the human straight for him.

Starscream smirked; Skyler's pace had faltered when she saw him looking at her. She glared when he smirked condescendingly and made a small 'come on' motion with his servo.

Skyler walked closer and Starscream crouched down with his servo out, permitting her to climb on. Of her own free will, of course, just another little 'lesson'. _If I keep grinding my teeth like this, I'll wear them down to stubs._

Straightening, he sneered, "If I didn't know better, I'd assume you **want** to spend more time with me."

"Dream on," she spat, earning another smirk. To avoid meeting his gaze, Skyler stared at the floor then, shuddering, reconsidered. It was awfully far away. She muttered, "But it beats being ambushed on my way back from the bathroom."

Starscream lifted an optic ridge but didn't deign to respond. He didn't bother reminding her not to try wandering off during the night after he'd lain down on the berth, confident Skyler remembered the previous night's demonstration.

It took less than five minutes for Skyler to decide her sleeping position was unsatisfactory. "What are you doing?" he wondered, sitting up slightly.

She glanced up, one leg poised to get a foothold, caught in the middle of climbing up the side of his torso, saying simply, "I'm cold."

He just stared, but when she shivered, Starscream reached for her, grumbling as he dumped her on his chest-plate, "You'd better not scratch my paint." The movement on his armor was unnerving, considering the proximity to the plating that covered his Spark chamber. He supposed it was irrational. After all, he'd not only removed said plating in front of her, he'd permitted Skyler within the protective housing to touch. His. Spark.

By then, Skyler had settled down almost exactly over the middle of his Spark and curled up. Starscream placed a hand over her, his servos curling around her body.

Skyler resented the not-very-subtle reminder that Starscream thought she belonged to him. _But it's warm...and I'm so tired...and he still thinks I'm nothing more than his property..._ With a tired sigh Skyler leaned against the curve of his servo and quickly fell asleep. _So easily contented_, he thought somewhat disdainfully. And yet it was comfortable. While high-ranking Decepticons had the credit allowance to furnish their rooms with whatever comforts they desired, such things were frowned upon on military vessels, and he had been on one for so many hundreds of solar cycles...

The human was already in deep stasis and the heat over his Spark was very...nice. Starscream resolved to insist on this arrangement from now on. He looked back at Skyler, already planning how to hedge her into cooperating.

Optics flickered briefly before shutting down into sleep mode.

* * *

_Running, running, running down a dark alley don't turn don't look at the pursuer **oh God somebody help me!**_ She didn't know who the call was directed to or what was chasing her, only that it was bad.

You're safe.

_No I'm not safe can't you see gotta run can't stop run run run_...

_No! It's got me! _Suddenly she felt pressure around her, (_It should hurt why doesn't it hurt?_), and all she could see were two glowing red eyes but the voice from before, now sounding rather irritated, (_I know that voice_...) said It's just a dream. Wake up, and so she did_._ Just as suddenly, the pressure vanished.

Skyler heard a familiar humming and felt smooth metal underneath her. She was very confused, the only remnants of her dreams were broken images, already fading. _What...where..._ ::Starscream?::

::Your hysterics disturbed my stasis, nothing more.::

::But - :: she began.

Starscream cut her off. ::Enough,:: he said, poking her. ::Now, stop talking or you'll spend the rest of the night locked in the nosecone of my vehicle mode.:: The Seeker knew she hated it in there, associating it (accurately) with a restriction of her freedom

Skyler huffed out a breath, rubbing her side gingerly. ::Alriiight, sheesh.::

* * *

Somewhere far removed from the Autobot's small factory, a computer console beeped. An indistinct figure bent over it and fast-forwarded through the spy-cam's earlier recordings. Ice-cold blue optics narrowed at the strange behavior between a Decepticon general and a small organic creature.

* * *

**A/N** - Yes, I know some people are just fine with 4 or 5 hours of sleep. But I've seen how it affects their performance. They look awake but are braindead...more than before. *shrugs* And before you ask, yes I did do this. But I was sick and just tossed and turned in bed for several hours before I finally passed out. And I've asked around - people tend to have really strange dreams when they're stressed and not getting enough sleep, so here's another (barely lucid) dream of Skyler's.

* "extraneous optical refractors" = glasses, like Tracks and Perceptor have for whatever reason

Guys, please don't make me beg for reviews. :c


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N** - And it's finally here! I'm really sorry for the massive delay, but I've had some major personal troubles. Things seem to be under control now, and I'm returning to the projects I'd been working on. Thanks for reading, and please review! I can always use constructive criticism!

* * *

She walked back and forth on the table, trying to wake herself up fully before attempting to climb down. If she fell wrong and broke her ankle or sprained her leg, Starscream was sure to razz her about it. And the choices - tough the pain out, beg her Partner for help, or limp over to the Autobot medic - weren't all that appealing to her. _Deep breath. You awake yet?_ Deciding that the answer was 'yes', Skyler dropped to her knees, turning around and sliding off the berth until she was dangling by her hands. A peek over her shoulder reassured her that the drop was manageable.

Thank heaven Sari'd needed to live at the base for so long. Not only was there a restroom, but a fully functional shower was included! Closing the door firmly behind her, the woman dug through her backpack for shower supplies and a fresh change of clothes before stepping into the shower. It had been awhile since Skyler was able to feel this relaxed. Not completely, because she still had to keep her mental shields in place. It didn't require a tremendous amount of concentration, but detracted from the calming shower. Humming to herself, she kneaded suds into her hair. Was it just the woman's imagination, or was she less sensitive to grease as a result of being around the robots? Her reverie was interrupted by the spray suddenly turning ice cold. With a loud screech, she jumped out of the shower and stood dripping on the bath mat.

Another shriek left her mouth as she felt a curious brush from Starscream, wondering what the surge of shock and anger was from. ::Outoutoutout**getout**!:: she screamed, lunging for a towel. The connection shut abruptly, like a slammed door.

_I...am going to _**_kill_**_ that kid_, she thought, wrapping the towel around herself. _Shutting off the water heater, that's a dirty trick. __The k__ind of stunt a...well, a kid would play._

Skyler poked her head through the door, open just a crack, and glanced around. All she saw was Bulkhead. Feeling rather ridiculous, she called out to him. "Hey, Bulkhead?"

The large mech turned around, helm swiveling to track the source of the noise. "Huh? What is it?"

"Did you see Sari and Bumblebee just now?"

"Yeah, actually." He rubbed one tri-digit over his protruding lower-jaw. "Ran past me, just a bit ago. You want me to call them?"

"No, that's fine, thanks," she said, forcing a smile.

Bulkhead blinked twice as she shut the door forcefully, and kept walking. Maybe he'd go back to painting rather than worry his processor over the weird human. They were all strange, but not Sari.

Sighing, Skyler sat down on the toilet, clutching her towel close to her. _Should've known this wouldn't be easy..._ And why should it? Introducing a Decepticon, however sincere his promises, and a human with closer ties to the 'Cons than the 'Bots - there should be some 'minor squabbles' expected.

* * *

A light flashed on the base's giant monitor, soon followed by a periodic beeping. Bumblebee startled, spinning around. _Decepticons? Those weird humans? Oh. No. Just an AllSpark frag_ - "Hey! Boss-bot, we got another fragment that's turned up!" All the Autobots except Prowl scrambled over behind the shortest mech.

"Roll out," Optimus said, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hey! You're not leaving me behind again. Not with him," Sari yelled, pointing accusingly at Starscream.

Bumblebee motioned reassuringly at her, palms out in a 'hold on' gesture.

Optimus rubbed the 'brim' of his 'cap', the helm protrusion. "While I understand your eagerness to be with us, Sari, I really can't condone -"

"What about her? It's not fair that she gets to go and not meeeee," the young girl whined, almost a quiet scream.

_Nope_, Skyler thought, edging out of sight behind Starscream's pede. _Not me. Nowa-__  
_

"Skyler is with me. **I** decide if she stays or not, as **I'm** responsible for her protection," Starscream said with a smug glance over at Prowl.

_...Shit._ ::Did you consider even for a microsecond that you might ask me?:: _Course not._

Sari stayed close to Bumblebee, hopping inside his vehicle mode the second he'd transformed. The yellow mini-bot sped out of the paved area, shortly followed by the rest of the team. Brave enough to set pranks for Skyler, but when faced with the turncoat Decepticon? Not so much.

Only Starscream remained in bipedal form, glancing down and quirking an optic ridge. The older woman's arms were crossed, frustrated with where her choices had led. Still frowning, she began tapping one shoe, doing what little things she could to aggravate him.

No response, only the folding down into jet mode. "About time," Skyler grumbled, forearms straining as she pulled herself into the jet's cockpit. "And don't see why I needed to come along," she continued as they rose into the clouds. "Or why Sari wanted to, for that matter."

Starscream chuckled, cinching the straps tightly around her body. "Why, in case the Decepticons are setting up a diversion, or simply waiting for the Autobots go go after the fragment. A single shard isn't that much of a loss, if you manage to capture a valuable prisoner in the process. It could always be tossed in on the barter. It's what I'd do, of course," he added as an afterthought.

"Of course, you would." Remind her why she was here again? Oh, that's right, because the self-important 'Con refused to allow her a choice in the matter. "You'd better be careful and not drag me into any fights."

* * *

Just how many fragments had the Autobots missed or been unable to gather, simply because they were restricted to the ground? Honestly, it was a good thing they had him there. What if it was stuck up a tree? For tiny organic creatures, some of their plant life could grow rather tall. Stupid Autofools probably would bicker about how best -and whether- to knock the tree down for the fragment. Precious time, during which Megatron or his lackeys could fly in, snatch the slagging thing, and disappear back to their base. Starscream only had to wait until such a thing happened, force the Autobots to realize their cause was hopeless without him. And then bask in the much-deserved, so rarely enjoyed, praise.

His organic grumbled something about egos as the Seeker pulled up a specialized scan for AllSpark energy. The human they had with them was rumored to be able to detect the fragments, but only when they first emerged or she was in very close proximity to them. For more detailed scans, they needed the equipment back at the base...or inside his secure databanks. He hadn't discarded **all** of his time as a scientist; so much of it had proved useful during the War or for personal gain. The Autobots were already deviating from the signal, forced to remain on cleared paths through the city and now the forest. Chuckling to himself, the red mech banked closer to the mountainous region, a small bubble of worry growing. The further he was from the Autobots, the harder it would be to scrape that slagging trio off on the doo-gooders. Frag. He'd just have to do this as rapidly as possible.

The signal led Starscream up to the mountainside, a sheer cliff. _More caves?_ he wondered. Fortunate he'd insisted on - no.

Transforming for a better look, he saw that it had embedded itself solidly into the rock, and wouldn't come out easily. Flexing the claws on his right servo, he plunged them deep into the surrounding material, wrenching a large chunk free of the mountainside. From there, it was a simple matter to slowly squeeze, reducing the organic matter to mere gravel. Nothing of Cybertron would break that easily. Now, what to do about the shard itself...

Sighing, Skyler let the back of her head hit the metal panel behind her. Heights. She hated them. And for some reason, she was reminded of the long distance between herself and the ground more when Starscream was in bipedal mode than in jet form. Just why was that? The brunette was still puzzling over it when she saw the glass hatch in front of her, the only thing keeping her safely inside, begin to retract. _Oh, nonono._ Shoulderblades pressed against the rear of her little chamber, hearing her heart pound in her ears. _I don't want to fall!_ Letting out a small 'meep' noise of mixed surprise and shock, one hand reached out to take the object Starscream's servo had inserted. She clutched it tightly as the hand withdrew and the hatch closed once more._What am I supposed to do with this thing?_ Skyler shrugged and dropped it into her backpack.

Starscream smirked, optics glinting. That was all the proof he needed; her storage compartment was perfectly useful to him. Now that he had the fragment, what to do? Head back to the base and wait for the Autobots to return, mocking them for the delay? He couldn't remain here...so he ran a quick scan for Cybertronian energy signatures. When two popped up on his visual overlay, his Spark skipped a beat before the scan registered them as Megatron's lieutenants, not the warlord himself. Even more interesting was the cluster of Autobot signatures nearby. Perhaps he should do something about that...

"Starscream, you sonofabitch, don't you dare!" Skyler shrieked, picking up on his thoughts. Transforming, he let out his trademark cackle and banked sharply towards the dual Decepticon energy signatures.

* * *

The axe was nearly ripped from his servos as a blast of ice coated it. Optimus had held his axe out from behind the tree, tilting it to try and catch a glimpse of the Decepticons in the reflection. _Blitzwing._ The mech's assault had forced all the Autobots to shelter behind trees and, in Bumblebee and Sari's case, a large rock. They needed Sari, as the AllSpark signal had vanished just as the Decepticons turned to confront them. Blitzwing's and Lugnut's sudden confusion had given Optimus' crew just enough time to seek cover. Still, fragment or no fragment, they had to get Sari out of there. The Prime glanced over, seeing that Bumblebee had curled himself protectively around the girl, with the added benefit of making himself a smaller target. But how? The moment any of them poked a faceplate around to check on the 'Cons, Blitzwing blasted them with ice. Thus far, only Prowl was able to dart from tree to tree, keeping the triple-changer focused on him and not on driving the others into the open. He wondered why Hothead hadn't appeared, or Random using his flamethrowers to burn down the forest. That would only make searching for the fragment harder, as well as endangering some of the more fragile components in a Cybertronian, but the two less-stable personalities had never seemed to take such things into consideration.

/Bumblebee, how is Sari?/

/Scared, Prime. She wasn't really expecting the Decepticons to show up here./

/I know, but we have to get her out of here. We will make a diversion, then you and Ratchet will get back to base. We'll follow you as soon as we can. The fragment's not worth risking Sari over. Prowl? Bulkhead? Get ready. We've got to buy them some time. Don't worry about Lugnut; he's still searching for the fragment. On three. Ready?/

Prowl was the first to hear it, the dull roar of a third set of thrusters. The others present also glanced up, with Lugnut following after Blitzwing irritably sent a wad of ice splattering across the cliff-face next to him.

"Still wasting your time fighting those pathetic Autofools?" Starscream sneered, a blast from his cannons sending a cloud of dust around the two. Blitzwing transformed as soon as the Seeker emerged from the cloud.

"**Just vating for joo, traitor!**"

Excellent, he'd coaxed Hothead out. Lugnut blasted off shortly after Blitzwing.

"About time," Optimus muttered, motioning for his crew to retreat. The signal was gone; either it had been a decoy, some accident of the air-waves, or it had been retrieved by Megatron, as the possibility of human intervention was almost negligible.

As the Autobots rolled out, they could hear the near-constant crackle of Starscream's laughter, Lugnut's enraged roars, and the blasts of Decepticon weaponry.

* * *

Starscream flew in quickly; he didn't want humans to know of the base location any more than the Autobots did. Transforming, he walked over to stand against the wall near the main entrance, waiting on the Autobots. They were several cycles away, roughly 15, assuming they burned rubber the whole way back. As an afterthought, he retracted the cockpit glass.

Skyler tumbled out of the central compartment, and from there to the ground as the Seeker stooped down. Limbs trembling, she stood up and glared at the mech. "You..." When had oxygen gotten so hard to come by? "...are a slagging...ass...hole." Whew. She leaned her hands on her kneecaps, still gasping for breath. ::I **hate** you,:: the woman said, deciding that actual speech was too difficult at the moment.

::No, you don't,:: Starscream replied, smugness resonating through their Bond. He crouched, hooking two digits under her body and scooping his Partner into the other servo. Skyler made a half-hearted attempt to push the restraining digits off of her before sagging against his servo with a weary grumble.

::Yes, I do.:: Why did she still feel the need to protest? Not like it ever did a single damned thing besides amuse the mech. _Ugh._ He didn't even dignify her sullen statement with a reply, only brushing a digit down her back. "M'not a pet," Skyler grumbled stubbornly, shifting under the stroke.

Starscream lifted her up, setting her gently down on his shoulderplate. She caught a strange feeling coming from his mind, difficult to tell whether he was deliberately sending at her or not. A nonverbal...prove it? Coupled with the sensation of being surrounded. The bastard never could give her a straight response, could he? "Do you still have the fragment?"

The brunette sighed, reminded that she was caught between the titles 'pet' and 'tool'. "Yeah," she ground out reluctantly, producing the shard from her backpack.

_What would the Autobots make of that? The signal only now reappearing._ Starscream mused. His human shifted around on his shoulder armor and he held up a servo in front of her. "No. You're staying right there."

"But -"

"It's high time the Autobots knew just how...devoted to me you are. Hand over the fragment."

Skyler wondered if the Autobots would be able to hear her teeth grinding. ::Here. Take the damned thing. They've brought me nothing but trouble.::

The Seeker held the softly-glowing blue crystal up to the light, turning it back and forth as the light reflected off its facets. Tires screeched on the road just next to the abandoned plant, and he lowered his arm, concealing the shard in a fist and leaning casually against the wall, adopting a bored expression on his faceplate. "You Autobots really are slow," he snarked.

The tired and rather scuffed team shot various intensities of glares at the taller mech.

"I had plenty of time to fly circles around those two and still beat you back here."

Bumblebee's shoulder-mounted tires spun angrily, about to fire off a snappy comment before Optimus cut him off. "The fragment's signal is gone. Must have been an attempt by Megatron to lure us out."

"What fragment?" Starscream said innocently. "You mean this one?"

"How the frag did you manage that?" Ratchet snapped.

The Seeker flicked the shard to Optimus in an under-servo'd toss. "Because you lot couldn't stand a chance without my help." Once again, Starscream wondered why he'd never tried this before. Aiding the Autobots. Funny how it took Megatron's uncovering of his schemes for this new one to work so well. He almost was grateful it had happened. No more bowing and scraping, dreading every moment Megatron's servos were within grabbing distance of his wings or helm. _Never again._

As the others trudged into the base to clean off and buff the damages out, Optimus sent a secure transmission, /We are grateful for your assistance./

Watching the red and blue mech walk away, Starscream purred, absolutely radiating contentment. It was good to be appreciated.

* * *

**A/N** - And if you really love Transformers Animated, there is an amazing Ultra Magnus RPer on Tumblr. She's on a sort of hiatus, moving over to another account. I also have a blog, for TFA Cliffjumper. There's not a whole lot of TFA blogs, and most of them are really lacking in quality. See "Gojetron" for the 5 Seeker clones, "the-rhythm-ninja" for an amazing Jazz, "AutobotCIC" for the Magnus, and my Cliffjumper is called "FrustratedSecretary".


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N** - What is this witchcraft? Two chapters in just a couple of weeks? Blasphemy!

In other news, could I have some reviews, critiques about what specifically I'm doing well and what I can stand to improve on? Anonymous is fine, if you don't have an account or can't/won't log into it for some reason. The only drawback is that I can't respond to the review if you're an Anon.

* * *

"For the last time, I didn't touch your stupid backpack!" Sari leaned forward, fists on her hips, and glowered at Skyler.

"Who else could have taken it?" The older woman gesticulated at the onlooking Cybertronians. Curious as to what the only humans on base were arguing heatedly about, they'd all formed a circle, staring down. "The only one besides you that could even **reach** in there is Bumblebee, and you two are thick as thieves!"

Naturally, the Earth phrase went over the helms of the Autobots, as Starscream picked up the general meaning from his partner's mind. Seeing Sari glance guiltily at Bumblebee, Skyler let out a sigh. "Just give it back, okay?" At a glance from Optimus, the little yellow mech shuffled off, helm down.

Bumblebee returned, carrying the bag in his servos. While dwarfed by his hand, the green contrasted with his paintjob sharply, drawing attention to it. Skyler couldn't take her eyes off it; she always got antsy when it was out of her sight. The backpack was the only real thing she had to remember her parents by.

::You are awfully attached to that thing,:: Starscream commented, fishing for information.

::It's mine,:: she replied in a petulant tone. That sounded familiar. Her eyes widened, remembering the forest discussion. ::Don't say it.::

::Far be it from **me** to point out the utter hypocrisy in that statement.:: Skyler glared at him as the smirk grew, blanching as it revealed the pointed dentals. Starscream's optics flared briefly in amusement.

Turning, instead, to glare at Sari, the young girl stuck her tongue out from where she hid behind Bumblebee. _Coward._

::If it weren't for the Autobots, I'd gladly step on her for you,:: Starscream offered. And then have to clean off the goo from his pede, likely forcing Skyler to help out with that.

::I wish,:: the woman muttered darkly.

Starscream raised an optic, watching the smaller organic trail after Bumblebee as the Autobots returned to their usual routines.

Skyler knew those well enough to predict where everyone would be for the next few hours.

* * *

::Where are you going?::

She'd actually gotten away from the factory's abandoned complex before Starscream had noticed. ::Getting restless, being cooped up in there so long. And visiting my family. It's a human compassion thing,:: Skyler snapped, ::two words completely foreign to you.:: A few more steps, then stop. ::What? Are you going to come out here and literally drag me back in? You'll have to strap me down, because I'll just keep leaving.:: _And how would you explain that to the Autobots, hmm?_

The buzz of Starscream's mind increased, trying to figure out how to do just that. He growled reluctantly, ::You **do** realize I'm going to have to tell the Autobots where you went.:: Maybe he'd wait a little, watch them begin to panic. Or even better, perhaps this would convince the pest to be a little more grateful to him.

* * *

"Little sis!" Spike said happily, opening his arms for a hug.

"Big bro!" she replied, obliging him with a tight squeeze. "Hey, dad. God, I missed you two. I can't stay too long, but could I come in and shut the door? It's beginning to get a bit nippy out." As she grew up, it almost seemed to get harder to see them as her family. The twenty years of referring to them as such warred with the growing knowledge that they weren't flesh and blood, as much as they cared for each other. "So what's up?"

* * *

"Skyler," Spike began, peering through the front window.

She glanced up from her discussion with Sparkplug about theories for the still-increasing number of domestic robots sent to their garage. The only explanation they could come up with was that it was tied to the arrival of the Cybertronians, because nothing else of significance had happened around the same time. Whatever was out there felt familiar. _Oh, no._

"There's...uh..." Should he even tell her? "You might want to take a look at this." Spike saw her eyes widen, his own narrowing in suspicion. "This isn't a surprise to you?"

"Goddammit." Skyler's head thunked down on the table. "Not really, no."

"How is he even here?" Hadn't she said nothing had happened since the Seeker had let her go? Megatron had tracked her to their house, now Starscream? They weren't even in a major point of town, and all this was happening.

"I lied, back when I said there was nothing more," Skyler muttered, finally looking up at both of them. Seeing her father's stern look of disappointment, she protest, "Aww, come on! You'd have completely flipped if I'd told you back then! I just didn't want you to worry. Really, I can handle myself. It's been going pretty well so far; Starscream's been helping the Autobots since I went to stay at their base." Worried that they'd demand she come back home despite the risks, she added, "He's pretty much left me alone, but I bet this is his idea of amusement." Groaning, she held her head in her hands. "I could've just walked back, but noooo." ::You couldn't even wait an hour? Just one?:: Skyler pushed her chair back and shrugged, looking sadly at the two of them. "I'd better go; he can get really pissy." Really? No response to that? _Hmm._ Maybe he thought it would ruin her suffering.

With her hand on the doorknob, she turned and gave a sad little smile. "I'll be fine. Really. Trust me on this."

"It's not you I don't trust," Sparkplug said darkly.

_Yeah, well, I don't really trust him either. But 'no choice'._

One last look filled with longing back at her home, then she stomped over to the jet. As she neared it, Skyler felt a low rumble, causing the air to vibrate. Didn't sound like his previous annoyed growls, though; there was a definite note of amusement there. The noise stopped when she jumped up, fingers catching the rim of the cockpit and hauling herself up to where she could swing herself in.

Skyler glared furiously at the jet's control array. When no answer was forthcoming, she pulled her leg back as far as it would go and kicked the metal panel in front of her with all the strength she could muster. A loud hiss accompanied a visible shifting of the interior panels, ruffling out slightly before replacing themselves seamlessly. "Well?" she snapped.

"The Autobots," Starscream sneered, "unanimously agreed that it was too dangerous for you to be out, and I **volunteered**..." would she stop kicking him there? Those panels housed delicate instruments and were rather sensitive, "...to retrieve you."

"You just about gave my dad a heart attack!"

"I can't be blamed for the inferior systems of your species. And unless I've misinterpreted your thoughts, you don't share any coding with them."

"I don't have to be blood related for them to be family." She added softly, "They're all I have. And you," Skyler glared and pointed a finger at his monitor array, "do **not** count." The woman didn't say another word, not even to the Autobots when she stormed into the base, past them and off to a corner to sulk.

* * *

Slim blue digits flew rapidly across the control panel, gathering the most important surveillance logs. They would be here soon, and he had to get this data to them. This would affect so many plans; they had to know that the situation had drastically changed.

* * *

**A/N** - I'm working on fixing some stuff on the previous chapters. Minor typos as well as correcting things that I need to improve.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N** - Huh. Where's all this productivity coming from? I've even begun to sketch out the ending.

* * *

Eying the large concrete couch, Skyler wondered where to sit. Bumblebee and Sari had claimed the actual seat, leaving no room for Bulkhead, who was resting nearby on his L-shaped shoulder protrusions. _I don't want to sit by those two, or somewhere that I can get squished._ The back of the sofa looked promising. She glanced at Sari and jumped up onto the sofa, and from there to the arm. The girl and the mini-bot were absolutely addicted to a racing game and were currently trash-talking each other over the noise of the television.

The large screen left running to detect any form of Cybertronian signals beeped and a window appeared, playing a recorded transmission. A stern blueish faceplate framed by an even darker blue helm spoke. "Optimus Prime, we have finally tracked your signal and shall arrive at your location within the solar cycle. Prepare for a full debriefing and have the AllSpark ready for collection." Every head in the room whipped around to stare as the display faded to gray.

Absolute fury radiated from Starscream. Claws twitching, he snarled, "So, you invited the Elite Guard?" His wings hiked up, flicking in agitation.

"How could we?" Optimus gestured to the monitors; the slight fear on his faceplate was nothing compared to the panicked throb of his Spark. "We have no tachyon transmitter to send anything off-planet."

The Seeker prodded Skyler's mind, warning her that she needed to be ready to leave **now**. He'd planned for an escape, in case he needed to sever his ties to the Autobots, but not on such short notice. Without knowing where the AllSpark fragments were, he only needed to make sure his pet was ready to flee, bringing that intriguing possession of hers.

Skyler's eyes flickered. ::I have it, but what is going on?::

"You **fools**," Starscream hissed, "if they find out you've made any kind of deal with a Decepticon, your skidplates will be on the line."

"That's not our only problem." The Prime narrowed his optics, crossing his arms and trying to look authoritative. "The AllSpark is shattered and both femmes are at risk here."

Optics dimming just a fraction, Starscream smiled coldly. "You would lie to your own superiors?"

"Only when it's for the best."

The Decepticon rested on servo on his hip, rubbing at his neck column with the other. "I can vacate your little hideout easily enough, but what will you do about the humans?"

Sari and Skyler glanced from Optimus to Starscream.

"Perhaps they could stay at Sumdac Tower." The crew's leader turned his helm to look at the girls. "Neither will be permitted any contact with us until Magnus and his Guard are gone."

A faint smile touched Skyler's face. _I look forward to it._

Starscream flicked her mind again reproachfully, glancing to Optimus Prime. "I will do what I can to thwart Megatron's raids for the shards, but if any of you Autobots attempt to stop me, I will not hold back." With that, he turned and left the base, flying away.

"I'm sure my dad will understand," Sari said, trying not to think too hard about being away from Bumblebee.

The Prime nodded, shifting into vehicle mode and popping his door open. "I will explain the situation to him."

* * *

Skyler smiled weakly as Sari clung to her father's hand, babbling frantically about grouchy old 'bots and how **unfair** this whole thing was. Professor Sumdac patted her head fondly, trying to reassure her that it was all temporary. Glancing at the woman, he craned his head towards the stairwell, slipping his hand down to Sari's back and guiding her forward.

She could barely keep from gawking, staring around at every little thing. Unless her parents had ever brought her here, Skyler'd never seen the inside of the Tower. When they stopped in front of a door that opened to a small bedroom suite, the brunette glanced at Sumdac, nervously tapping her fingers together. "I really can't thank you enough for this, sir. I want to help repay you somehow."

The short man looked up with a smile. "Sari tells me that you've been one of the those repairing my automatons."

Her eyes brightened and her face turned pink. "We started with cars, but then someone brought their domestic in with them, and we worked on it as well. There's been a lot of those recently." Skyler waved her hands quickly. "I'm not saying anything about your products, since most of the jobs are because the owner did something stupid with their 'bot."

Professor Sumdac nodded. "People have always tried to get the automatons to do things they are not meant to do."

The woman chuckled. If she had a dollar for every time a customer insisted 'I didn't do anything, it just quit working on its own!', she'd be rich.

Sari hung back as her father walked off, looking Skyler to the room and back to Skyler. She put her hands on her hips. "Guess you gotta get used to a bed again, since you've been sleeping with Starscream."

_God, that makes it sound so wrong._ Shoulders hunched inward, her face turned even more crimson than it already was. "It's not...you don't...stop judging me! Have **you** ever tried to argue with him?" Skyler's lips thinned. "Didn't think so. It's not like I have a choice when he can tell where I am all the time." Her lips twitched upward into a small cruel smile. "You should be thankful he could; it's how your father escaped. **Do** tell Professor Sumdac I'm grateful for the room." Then she shut the door in Sari's face. Skyler's eyes darkened, and she leaned forward against the door. _Where did that come from? I'm not usually this snappy._ She frowned; it wasn't the first time she'd been so snappy with a person. More so than was usual for her. _Hopefully only stress._

* * *

Even with all the advanced programming of the robots, humans still had to diagnose and repair each malfunctioning one. Skyler was shown to a small room, with a few automatons piled in a corner. She grinned, loving the chance to get back to work. But first...

Pulling out her PDA, Skyler typed a message to her brother.

Hey, Spike. Just giving you a heads up about what's been going on. Some intolerant visitors arrived, so me and the kid had to relocate. The one I don't want to talk about also left. I'd tell you where I am, but in case this message gets intercepted, I'll be vague.

Lots of hugs,

Your sis

She turned at the sound of the door opening. A small wheeled automaton rolled in, holding out a stack of envelopes in its pincers. "From Professor Sumdac," it beeped.

Cocking an eyebrow, she took the papers. "What are these?" But it had already left. The papers were addressed to her. Skyler flicked through the letters, seeing each one labeled with a date. The first one was when she was barely a year old.

Dear Skyler,

You haven't started talking quite yet, but since you're walking well enough to get into trouble, I decided to start these letters. Your father says it's ridiculous, but my mother did the same thing for me. Someday, when you're older, I'll get them out and we can read them together. I remember laughing at some of the things she said I did as a child.

With love,

Your mother

It was in the purple gel pen Sparkplug said her mother had loved so much. Her fists clenched and she set the paper down to keep from crumpling it. Picking another out at random, she read,

Dearest daughter,

Most mothers worry about their child going to kindergarten for the first time, but I don't mind it overmuch since it means I don't have to leave you with the children of the other researchers. Some of our experiments can be dangerous, and I'm always worried something will happen to you. These early-generation automatons aren't fully tested and I think using them as minders is jumping the gun a little.

We've started a new project today! Who knows, maybe when you grow up, this technology will be so common-place that no one gives it a second thought. I know that when Isaac Sumdac first started producing his robots, everyone was fascinated. Just a few short years before that, everyone had thought such advanced automatons were decades off. But I'm getting off track. The Professor showed us a strange type of radiation, like nothing we've ever seen before. It behaves so oddly, in large enough quantities, it excites any matter that it comes in contact with, blurring the item and making it slightly insubstantial. Shut off the energy and the object comes right back. We're so excited; this could mean amazing things, possibly even have portents for space travel!

All my love,

Kaitlin

Skyler checked the date at the top of the paper. June 16, 2037, the day before the explosion. She pushed the stack of letters away, crossing her arms on the table and resting her forehead on them. _I'm not going to cry. I'm _**_not_**_._ But her chest heaved, croaking out a sob.

The woman's heart felt heavy as she placed the papers in her backpack, where no one could ever get to them, and turned to the gutted automaton on the workbench. _Now I know what killed them._ She checked her mental shields. Intact._ Good. I don't want that psychopath to have any more ammunition to harass me with._

When she wheeled the repaired machine out for Sumdac to examine, the woman forced a grateful smile. "Thank you for showing me those letters. I never really knew them at all."

He nodded. "I was very sorry to lose them. Your parents were kind people, and two of my best workers." The short man patted her on the shoulder and pushed his machine away to run a final check on it.

* * *

Skyler was quite surprised that she hadn't heard anything from Starscream in the week and a half since she'd been staying at the Tower. When the Autobots said 'no contact', she thought he would only physically stay away. Whatever the Seeker was up to, she hadn't felt so much as the slightest hint of his emotions. After nearly a month of spending her nights curled up on his plating, it was incredibly difficult to sleep in the double bed. The pillow was nice, though. She'd been using her backpack for that purpose at the base. But the peace and quiet didn't last.

The woman jerked awake, glancing at the clock next to her bed. Just before three in the morning. Grumbling, she rolled over, hiking the covers up to her chin.

::It's been awhile, fleshling.::

::Starscream, it's the middle of the night. The frag do you want?::

::Step outside.::

::No. M' comfortable right here, thankyouverymuch.:: A quiet rumble of the jet's engines made her open her eyes blearily. ::Scream, you know what Optimus said,:: the woman groaned, pulling the pillow over her head.

::And since when have I ever followed an Autobot's orders?:: he replied smugly, giving a gentle tug to her mind, reminding her that she'd give in eventually.

Skyler groaned and practically rolled out of the bed, tugging her shoes on. ::This better be a short flight; they'll have a total fit if I'm not back soon.:: On that topic, she should probably leave a short note, just in case. She pulled out a piece of paper and held the pen over it. _On second thought, why bother?_ Shaking her head quickly, she shot a glare out the window. ::I said I'm coming, so stop that.::

::Then hurry up.::

The woman scrawled a quick message, pulled on her shoes, and opened the balcony door. She sighed, looking at the jet hovering next to the tower. ::Aren't you worried someone will see you? You know what, nevermind.:: Hopping over the handrail, she landed in the cockpit and reached for the harness with the intent of fastening herself in. The straps twisted out of her hand, clicking together over her body. She could only sigh and lean back, one foot prodding the control array. "Guess I can add 'control freak' to the reasons I hate you."

He let out a dry chuckle, tilting the seat back to a thirty-degree angle and sending her falling with a loud squawk. "In case you still need to recharge," Starscream replied to her curious look.

The woman's brow furrowed. "Then what was the point of waking me up?" The harness loosened so she could turn onto her side, pulling out a blanket and curling around it. After a few minutes of loaded silence, Skyler grumbled, "All right, I was bored without you as well." Soon she was fast asleep, breathing quietly.

Starscream blamed the Autobots for his suffering. As time dragged on without his Bonded, the ache in his Spark grew. It was infuriating, a weakness he had to tolerate. As painful as it was, he refused to break the Bond with his pet. Unable to handle it anymore, the mech decided one little flight couldn't hurt. Earth was so flat, but during the night, when the stars we visible, was the best time to be out, the most soothing type of flight. Although blurred by the planet's thick atmosphere, there were many more stars than could be seen from Cybertron. It was strange how beautiful such a primitive organic planet could be. Starscream was loath to admit it, but Earth wasn't one of worst places he'd ever been.

All the lights on his monitors blinked once before shutting off, the Seeker's thrusters spluttering out. "The frag?" he shouted, beginning to fall out of the sky. His engines wouldn't start back up; he was crashing! The indignity absolutely enraged him, tilting his wings to try and slow down the freefall. It wasn't quite enough; his t-cog was still functional, so he transformed to avoid a crash that would be fatal to his Partner. Groaning, he shook the dirt out from the seams in his forearms. How had that happened? He checked Skyler's mind; knocked into stasis, but otherwise unharmed. He growled and stood up, glancing around for the source of the sudden malfunction. A pede smashed into his back, shoving the Seeker faceplate-down into the soil thrown up by his landing. Snarling, he forced himself back up, howling when a surge of energy shot through his systems, forcing him into stasis lock. "Lockdown," Starscream snarled, claws twitching as he tried to reach the cuffs around his wrists.

"You've got quite the bounty on your helm, Screamer," the bounty hunter said in his gravelly voice.

The Seeker hissed at the spiked mech, earning himself a mouth clamp for his trouble.

* * *

**A/N** - Oops. This is what happens when I don't post the chapter until I fall asleep; I forget to alter it for FFdotnet's settings.


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